Sabered Sky
by EternalDragonSlayer
Summary: Wendy decides not to go to Tenrou with Mest. Over the 7 years without her comrades, Wendy leaves Fairy Tail and finds herself in a guild named Sabertooth. When Team Tenrou returns in X791, Wendy is forced to fight against them in the Grand Magic Games. Will Wendy move on from her past in order to maintain Sabertooth's glory? StingWen & Rokino. Cover: Blamedorange
1. A New Path

**(A/N: Starting from this chapter, I will be updating the chapters with new ones that have less grammatical errors. If you see a sudden change of writing style and/or quality midway, that is the reason)**

* * *

" _You sure you don't want to come with me?" Mest asked, shocked at the girl's response._

" _I think Carla is right. It might be best I stay here," the girl replied. The white Exceed next to her nodded and crossed her arms._

 _Mest scratched the back of his head._ 'Who will I ask now?'

 _"I'm really, really sorry_ , _Mest-san." Wendy told him, regret filling her face as she looked at the ground. "I wouldn't have been able to help you anyways. I'm not a good fighter."_

 _Mest, or Doranbolt to the Council, turned his head slightly at the girl's sadness. "Why are you so upset over this? I don't mind if you don't want to go. It's understandable." he assured, bending his knees and placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "And don't doubt yourself like that! You're pretty strong, especially since you managed to help stop Oración Seis!"_

 _Wendy smiled and hugged the man in front of her. He blushed at her kindness toward him. "I wish you the best in the tournament!"_

" _Thank you_ _, Wendy."_

* * *

"You're doing it again," a stern voice called out. Wendy blinked a few times before turning to face her companion.

"Oh, sorry, Carla." she quickly said.

"It's been 2 years, Wendy. I know you're thinking about them." Carla sighed, crossing her arms. Wendy looked around the room. Macao, the new master, was forced to relocate the guild to a smaller building. The now 14 year-old girl became sad over the thought of her closest comrades being gone in a matter of days. Fairy Tail was never the same after that. It was getting boring, compared to its old days.

"Your eyes are red," the cat brought up, "Have you been crying?"

"What?" Wendy sat up, looking at her reflection in the glass that held her water. She examined the redness in her eyes before responding, "Oh...I must've gotten something in them. It's okay."

"You can cry, Wendy. It's okay-"

"I said I'm fine," Wendy cut the girl off, "Really."

Carla shrugged before turning back to where she was facing earlier. Seeing a man approach them, Carla called out to them. "Is that for us, Wakaba?"

"Doranbolt-san sent this to you," Wakaba's voice called out, placing a letter package on the table. "I'm assuming it's another apology letter."

"That's the fifth one in the past year," Carla commented, "I don't really think we need these constant reminders about what happened."

Regardless, Wendy thanked the man and opened the package. In it was a letter and Wendy opened to read it.

 _Wendy,_

 _I'm deeply sorry I could not do anything for your friends 2 years ago. I realize that I have said the same thing to you every time but I hope you understand that the Council is doing all that it can to track down what happened on the island. I'm sorry for lying to you and infiltrating the guild, but it was my job after all. My deepest regret is leaving Laki and the others behind, but I really did have no choice. Either way, I'm glad that you're okay._

 _And don't look down on yourself and your abilities. I heard you managed to take down a dark guild all by yourself recently._

 _I know this isn't much, but I wanted to inform you of something. There is a guild named Sabertooth that just acquired 2 Dragon Slayers. I advise you to talk to them. Perhaps they also had dragons that disappeared 9 years ago._

 _I wish you well,_

 _Doranbolt_

Wendy closed the letter and turned to Carla, who had also been reading it. "2 Dragon Slayers, just like me! What do you think, Carla? Should we visit them?"

"Up to you, Wendy. I think you should. You haven't traveled in weeks! When's the last time we took on a job?"

"When's the last time we got a request?" Wendy muttered under her breath, looking up at the empty job board.

"Anyways," Carla awkwardly began, hoping no one else had overheard Wendy's comment, "Pack your things then. We'll head to Sabertooth later."

Wendy nodded and got up. She walked over to Kinana, the new barmaid. "Kinana-chan, Carla and I will be traveling for a little. Tell the others if they ask."

Kinana nodded and wished the two luck on their journey.

* * *

The train to Sabertooth was, to say the least, horrible. Wendy managed to gain motion sickness recently, just like Natsu had. Carla could only roll her eyes at the girl.

"How did this even happen to you?" Carla asked. However, she already knew Wendy was too sick to reply.

It started around a year ago, after Wendy and Fairy Tail were trying to defend their building from an attack by a dark guild, Midnight Feather. The other Fairy Tail members were beat pretty quickly, so Wendy was forced to lead the attack. By doing so, she discovered a new spell to use on enemies. She called it 'Shattering Light: Hell's Winds'. Afterward, Porlyusica gave the girl two new spells: Shattering Light: Sky Drill and Milky Way. Porlyusica also revealed herself as Edolas Grandeeney, in which Wendy had many questions for the woman, but Porlyusica just blocked her out. After months of trying to talk to her, Wendy realized it was no use, and ultimately left her alone.

The sound of a train's horn sounded loudly as train began to slow down, eventually coming to a halt.

"Thank goodness; We're here Wendy. The train stopped." Carla told her.

"Finally…" Wendy trailed off, feeling much better than she was for the last 10 minutes.

Sabertooth was a fairly small guild at the moment, but was becoming more popular after word got out on the two Dragon Slayers joining. The mages all in there seemed delighted at the new intake of job requests being sent over to them. Wendy stared in awe at all the papers the members were holding and attaching to their job request board.

"What do you think they are like, Carla?" Wendy asked, becoming more excited to meet them.

"Hopefully not like Natsu and Gajeel," Carla said without thinking. When she turned her head, Wendy stopped in her tracks, her face suddenly darkened.

"Sorry Wendy. It slipped out."

Wendy only picked up Carla and hugged her tightly. "It's ok, Carla. We have each other, no?"

Upon arriving at the guild, Wendy was greeted by a lot of Sabertooth's members.

"I remember you! You're that Fairy girl! The one who singlehandedly took on Midnight Feather!" a boy claimed. He wore a crimson and gold mask around his eyes and fairly long, blonde hair. "I'm Rufus, by the way." he held out her hand. Wendy shook it and Rufus looked at Carla.

"That's an Exceed, no?" he pointed at Carla.

"Yes, I am." Carla replied, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

"Sting-sama and Rogue-sama also have Exceeds! Must be a Dragon Slayer thing." Rufus suggested. Wendy nodded, smiling at his rather accurate guess.

Carla looked in the guild building. It was rather calm, especially compared to Fairy Tail. The people seemed pretty kind and were very quiet.

"Who is this?" a dark, deep voice called out across the room. Wendy and Carla turned around and saw a tall, elderly man speaking. For his age, he was very muscular. He had long hair and his eyes were so white it was like he had no pupils. On his forehead was a purple Sabertooth mark that made it look like he had a third eye.

"Master!" Rufus greeted by bowing to him. "This is Wendy Marvell and her Exceed from Fairy Tail."

Jiemma took a few steps toward the girls, observing them. "You're a Dragon Slayer, no?" he asked, his voice booming from its naturally loud volume. Wendy nodded. "And that cat is your companion?"

"An Exceed-" Carla started, her tone rather rude.

"Yes. That is Carla." Wendy interrupted, hoping to make a good impression on the guy. "She is an Exceed and uses Transformation magic to turn into a human and fight."

Carla learned Transformation magic over the past year to fight alongside Wendy, never wanting her to take on enemies by herself ever again, like she was forced to do against Midnight Feather.

"Interesting. May I ask why you are here?"

"I was wondering if I could meet the two Dragon Slayers that just joined your guild. I just want to ask them a few questions." Wendy said, trying her best not to show her fear of the man.

"Sorry, they aren't doing interviews." Jiemma coldly said, turning around to resume what he was doing before the girls arrived, shrugging them off as if they were reporters.

"Wait!" Wendy nervously called out, stopping the man from leaving. "I-I also was hoping to ask if you are taking in new members."

Carla gasped at Wendy's claim. She knew Wendy wasn't happy in Fairy Tail, but leaving it? That's something Wendy would never do, or really something the Wendy _she_ knew would never do.

 _'What's been going on with you, child?'_

Wendy sparked Jiemma's interest. He turned around, now smiling.

"This guild has room for all the Dragon Slayers in the world," he told her, "Sabertooth is growing stronger and is setting up connections around the entire continent."

"Inviting," Carla rolled her eyes and muttered to herself. Jiemma caught this, and glared right the girl for a few moments before turning back to Wendy.

"So, Wendy, if you join us, I'll make sure you get even stronger than you are." Jiemma offered. Wendy's eyes began to light up, thinking of all of the possibilities of reaching a new level of magic. A level that only Grandeeney once believed she would achieve.

"I'll think about it. But first, may I speak with Sting-sama and Rogue-sama?" Wendy asked the old man.

"Just Sting and Rogue is fine," a voice said from behind Wendy. Wendy and Carla turned around and saw two boys that were her age. One of them, the one who just spoke to her, was a blonde boy with blue eyes. Next to him was a boy with black hair and red eyes. Next to them were two Exceeds, one that was a reddish brown and another that was green and wearing a frog suit.

"I'm Sting," the blonde boy said, reaching out a hand. Wendy shook and and heard Rogue also introduce himself.

"You're a Sky Dragon Slayer, right?" Rogue asked. Wendy nodded.

"I'm a White Dragon Slayer and Rogue is a Shadow Dragon Slayer," Sting explained, his smile never fading. Wendy smiled back at the boy as Carla introduced herself to the two Exceeds.

"Lector and Frosch." Carla repeated their names to make sure she pronounced them correctly.

"You really are beautiful, Carla!" Lector claimed.

"Fro thinks so too!" Frosch agreed.

Carla shrugged off the compliment before beginning a conversation with the two. Wendy had noticed how much easier it seemed for Carla to talk to Exceeds like her. After all, the last time she saw an Exceed was when Pantherlily decided to fly to Tenrou to cheer on Gajeel.

* * *

Wendy and Carla ended up staying all night in the guild building, getting to know everyone. Regardless of the symbol on her arm, everyone already viewed Wendy as a member of Sabertooth. The Exceeds, too, viewed Carla as a comrade. They all clicked together immediately. The once quiet guild suddenly became lively the second Wendy began to talk to them.

And by the time the sun was beginning to rise, everyone was asleep except Wendy and Sting.

"What was your dragon like?" Sting asked, still very much awake.

"Kind and gentle. Grandeeney believed in me when the world thought I was too weak for it." Wendy reminisced, a smile on her face as she recalled her precious memories with the dragon. "Yours?"

"Weisslogia pushed me to be the best. He even sacrificed his life for me." Sting told her. Wendy gave a confused look at the boy in response to his comment.

"Your dragon died? How?"

"He told me that in order to become truly stronger, I must slay a dragon," Wendy gasped in shock upon hearing this. "He forced me to kill him. It was horrible, and Rogue's dragon, Skiadrum, asked him to do the same. Yours did not die?"

Wendy escaped from her shocked state and answered, "No. Just disappeared 9 years ago on July 7."

"Huh. That's the day Rogue and I slayed our dragons. And the day Gajeel-san and Natsu-san's dragons disappeared."

The sound of their names made Wendy clench her fists. Sting noticed this and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It was a horrible thing to happen. I'm truly sorry about your losses." he told her, "Rogue and I...we viewed them as our idols. Wanted to meet them and learn from them. I can't even think how you feel...losing comrades..."

Wendy began to cry as she thought more and more about everyone. She then wiped away the tears, turning away from the boy.

"I'm sorry..." Wendy choked out, "I cry too much..."

But Sting gently grabbed her and hugged her, letting her cry in his shoulder.

"Let it out," he whispered, "Crying isn't something to be ashamed over."

His embrace tightened as she continued to cry. Sting remained silent, keeping a straight face as he felt the girl slowly let down her walls, crying harder into his shoulder.

 _'She cries like she's been holding it back all these years...'_ he thought to himself, _'Had she been staying strong for everyone else...?'_

' _He's warm…'_ Wendy thought, calming down as she closed her eyes.

Perhaps this could be a new beginning for her.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! The fact that Sting and Rogue are technically the same age as Wendy (with just 7 years removed) really inspired me to write this. I just kept thinking of what would happen if Wendy did not go with Mest to Tenroujima for the S-Class Promotion Trial. I intend to write about Team Tenrou's return and the effect it has on Wendy.**

 **The story has Wendy as the main character, but will go in depth about other characters as well, mainly Sabertooth. I hope you guys will enjoy it!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters.**


	2. Leaving for a New Beginning

**(A/N: Chapter has been updated with grammatical fixes since original posting)**

* * *

" _We searched the entire area. We can't find them." Macao sighed as Wakaba, Jet, and Droy all rested against the wall. They just returned from their trip to look for the other guild members. They left the second the Council told them about what happened, and were gone for weeks._

 _Wendy fell to the ground on her knees. fists clenched and eyes shut. "You have...you have to keep trying!" she yelled out before choking up. Tears made their way to her eyes but the girl kept them shut before they could fall. Carla, who was beginning to cry, grabbed Wendy's arms to comfort her._

" _We'll never stop trying, Wendy. I promise." Macao assured her. "They're out there somewhere."_

* * *

Wendy woke up on a bed, her memories a little hazy for a second. She got up and tried to remember what happened the night before.

' _Sting and I were talking...I must have fallen asleep in the middle of it.'_ she thought. She then looked at the bed she was in and the room she was in. Where was she?

"Good morning, Wendy!" Carla's voice said from the foot of the bed.

"Carla...where am I?" the blue-haired girl asked, trying to locate herself. The room was fairly large and clean. The bedsheets were black and white and along the walls were paintings of different nature settings.

"Sting said you knocked out when you guys were talking. He said he just carried you, me, and our bags here and let us sleep in his bed." Carla told her, moving on the bed to sit next to Wendy.

Wendy blinked a few times as she comprehended the gril's words before blushing. "This is his room? We're in his home?"

Carla nodded, not noticing the girl's slight blush, and looked at the clock in the room. "It's noon already?!" she exclaimed, looking out the window as she saw the bright sun beating against the ground harshly.

"We did sleep pretty late, Carla." Wendy shrugged, getting off of the bed. She put on a new set of clothes, donning now a red leather jacket and black leggings. Gone were her dresses and skirts, the girl finally realizing that wind magic and dresses often compromised her battles. The girl tied her long hair back into a single ponytail, a hairstyle she began to prefer after her hair became too thick and tangled. She made the bed and gathered her and Carla's bags before opening the bedroom door and walking out.

"Wendy?" a soft voice asked. Wendy turned her head to see Rogue exiting his bedroom that was right next to Sting's. Rogue peeked his head into the room, looking at the empty bed. "Where's Sting?"

"U-um…" Wendy tried to explain but couldn't, blushing brightly. Carla rolled her eyes and gave Rogue the same explanation she just gave Wendy.

Rogue nodded, "You guys heading to grab lunch?" he asked. They nodded and he decided to escort them to the building.

"Do you know where Sting went to sleep?" Rogue asked the girls, Frosch in his arms. They both shook their heads.

"If he even slept at all," Wendy commented, "Last I remember, it was almost 5 in the morning when we were still talking."

When they entered the guild building, Sting and Lector were eating lunch, the two munching loudly as they inhaled the feast that was in front of them. Sting, with noodles hanging from his mouth, smiled at the group and immediately waved them over to join.

"Have a nice sleep, Wendy, Carla?" Sting asked after gulping his food down. They both nodded, sitting down on the other side of the table.

"Mine was great, thanks for asking." Rogue muttered, sarcasm all over his tone.

"Yeah, yeah," Sting brushed him off, resulting in Rogue playfully rolling his eyes. Wendy and Carla looked at each other, reminded of a certain ice mage and a fire mage, though if it were just like them, the table would be either burnt or frozen.

"Where did you sleep, Sting?" Wendy asked as she received a plate of food from the barmaid.

"I slept on the couch in the apartment," he replied, his face full of food, "It's pretty small but Lector and I managed."

"Thank you, for everything you did for Carla and I, but we could have slept on the couch instead."

"Yeah, I mean Wendy's like half your size," Carla teased as the girl elbowed the Exceed.

"Nah," Sting chuckled, "It was nothing. Wasn't going to let two girls sleep on a dirty old couch after making a long journey here."

Wendy and Sting exchanged smiles as food came their way from the bar maid, serving the rest of the group.

"Do you guys own the apartment by yourselves?" Wendy asked the two boys. Both nodded.

"We bought it when we joined Sabertooth a few months ago," Rogue answered, "Rent is pretty low considering how big it is."

"You guys met before you joined this guild?" Carla inquired, "I mean, I wouldn't just buy an apartment with someone I just met."

"We met last year when travelling." Sting explained.

"Sting was trying to pick a fight with a bunch guys. I wasn't going to bother with him until I heard him use Dragon Slayer magic. We fought the bandits together and decided to form a team afterward." Rogue added.

"Wow..." Wendy trailed off. Those two were both travelling on their own at such a young age?

Just then, Jiemma entered the room. Everyone but Wendy and Carla got up as a result. They all bowed to Jiemma as he made his way to his throne, walking ever so arrogantly. Jiemma then saw Wendy in the corner of his eye. His body turned a 180 as he made his way to the girl. Wendy stood up and greeted the man, doing a small bow to him in respect.

"Wendy, I have reached out to an ally from the southern country and they were willing to give me a Sky Dragon Lacrima." Jiemma told her. Wendy blinked.

"Dragon Lacrima? But I already use Dragon Slaying magic…" Wendy trailed off, confused. At this, Sting and Rogue intervened into the conversation.

"We call it a 3rd Generation Dragon Slayer. Someone who learned from a dragon and has a lacrima in them." Sting told her.

"It gives someone even more power, including activating Dragon Force at will." Rogue added. At this, Wendy's eyes lit up.

' _Dragon Force? That's what Porlyusica said I used against Midnight Feather. All of that power...accessible with just a simple command?'_

"Thank you so much, Master Jiemma!" Wendy bowed once more to him.

Jiemma then added, "Well, I'll only give it to you on one condition."

"What is it?"

"You become a Sabertooth wizard."

His words echoed inside the heads of both Wendy and Carla. The two girls shot each other a shocked look.

"Become..." Carla trailed off.

"...a Sabertooth wizard?" Wendy finished for her friend, both of their stances going stiff.

"C'mon, Wendy," Jiemma mumbled to the girl, "What does Fairy Tail have to offer you these days? Do people even give jobs anymore?"

Wendy remained silent, instinctively grabbing her right arm, her hand rubbing it as she felt the ink of the Fairy Tail mark on her shoulder.

"I know you're selfless. You want to help them, but, as a man who has been a part of dozens of guilds in my lifetime, let me tell you this: No matter how much you try to help a guild, you can't do it alone. Sometimes, moving on is easier than staying to help and suffering in the process."

"Wendy..." Carla looked over to the girl, grabbing her arm.

"You're still young. You really just want to waste time trying to keep a guild together? Or do you want to continue getting stronger?"

"What do you say, Wendy? Do you want to become a Sabertooth wizard?" Sting jumped into the conversation, holding his arm out for her to shake. Wendy looked at Carla, who gave her an unsure look.

 _'Fairy Tail... they've all been trying to keep it together these past few years. Some already gave up their search for the others. As much as I am thankful for their support, I can't keep looking in the past. Master Jiemma is right. I need to keep looking forward.'_

Wendy released her arm from her hold and grabbed Stings hand and shook it. The rest of the guild erupted in cheers as Jiemma cracked a smile.

* * *

"Wait, what?" Macao asked the Sky Dragon Slayer, his face full of shock.

"I'm leaving Fairy Tail. I wish to train with Sting and Rogue of Sabertooth and-"

"You're leaving for another guild?!" Macao yelled at the top of his lungs. Everyone in the building gasped and Wendy sighed.

"If that's how you see it, then yes. I'm leaving to train with Sabertooth."

"No way!"

"Don't tell me you're serious!"

"Fairy Tail can train you!"

"Don't leave us for some puny guild!"

The other members kept shouting at Wendy to not leave. Wendy shut her eyes, on the verge of crying.

Macao sighed. "Are you sure?"

"Master Macao..." Wendy whispered, "This wasn't an easy decision to make..."

"I'm sure," the man sympathetically murmured. He then looked around the room, locking eyes with everyone else in the guild before looking back down to her, "This guild isn't getting any better anytime soon. These loans from the other guilds can only get so high..."

"Master..." the girl trailed off, "I'm sorry..."

The man sighed once more before nodding. "If that's what you truly wish for. Then I have no choice," he said.

He then walked closer to her and stood tall. He looked her in the eye, telling her, "As per Fairy Tail tradition, I shall recite to you the three rules of leaving Fairy Tail. One: You must never reveal sensitive information about Fairy Tail to others for as long as you live. Two: You must never use former contacts met through your being in the guild for personal gain. Three: Though our paths may have diverged, you must continue to live out your life with all your might, you must never consider your own life to be something insignificant, and you must never forget about your friends who loved you."

Wendy began to cry and hugged Macao. Everyone else joined in hugging either her or Carla as the entire building erupted in cries.

"Everyone...thank you...for everything." Wendy told everyone as she was released from the group hug. They all nodded, crying as they said their last goodbyes.

Wendy then lifted her right arm up and signaled the Fairy Tail hand sign. Everyone repeated her action. The blue mark of Wendy's right arm then began to glow as it slowly disappeared. Carla's mark did the same as they exited the building.

Wendy looked at Carla, smiling though her crying face. "Let's start our new adventure, Carla..." Wendy softly smiled. Carla nodded and let Wendy lead the way to Sabertooth.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you everyone for supporting the first chapter! I had a little extra time today so I decided to write a new chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it! Of course, if you have any questions or concerns with the story then either message me or leave a review.**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters**


	3. 3rd Generation Dragon Slayer

**(A/N: Chapter has been updated with grammatical fixes since original posting)**

* * *

"Where do you want your guild mark?" the barmaid asked Wendy and Carla. The two had just arrived at Sabertooth less than 5 minutes ago, deciding to stay the night at a hotel halfway through their trip over. Despite this, they already were being embraced as full members by the guild. The guild was especially lively that day as they all celebrated the 3rd Dragon Slayer to join their guild, as well as the 4th Slayer magic user overall.

Carla pointed to her back and Wendy pointed to her right shoulder. Carla was the first to receive the symbol, choosing the same color she got her Fairy Tail mark in.

"What color do you want, Wendy?" Carla asked the rather quiet girl. Wendy thought for a second before choosing a color.

"Do you have gold?" she asked and the barmaid smiled and nodded. She grabbed the gold ink and stamped Wendy with it. The mark embedded itself onto her skin and Wendy smiled. She then put on her signature red jacket that she wore that day.

"You didn't want blue?" Carla questioned. She wasn't gonna lie, though. The gold looked really good on the girl. Wendy shook her head.

"It's time for a change."

"And there she is!" a certain blond boy's voice called out from the entrance of the building. Wendy and Carla turned around and greeted Sting and Lector.

"Welcome to Sabertooth! Well, officially." Lector welcomed the two. They thanked him and sat down together at a table.

"Can I see it? Your guild mark," Sting asked eagerly. Wendy slightly blushed as she took off her jacket to show the boy, the gold shining the brightly in the light.

"Oo~ gold is a great color! I got white and Rogue got black." Sting told her, pointing to his left shoulder.

"I heard my name." a voice declared from behind them. Wendy and Sting turned to see Rogue and Frosch walking into the guild.

"Fro thinks so too!"

"Good morning, Rogue, Frosch!" Wendy greeted with high spirits.

"I see you're one of us now," he said, motioning his head toward her shoulder. Wendy nodded and put her jacket back on. Rogue set Frosch down and Frosch ran to Lector and Carla.

"Master Jiemma wants to see us," Rogue told the other two Dragon Slayers. They simply nodded, not bothering to ask why. The three walked out of the main room of the building and went to the back, where Jiemma usually went to do his work as master. The three entered the room, where Jiemma stood with a girl next to him. Wendy did not recognize the girl, but noted that she had long, straight, and glossy black hair. She kept it mostly down except for the two loops at the top of her head.

"Good morning, Master. Good morning, my lady." Sting and Rogue both bowed. Wendy's last of courtesy made the girl turn her head.

"Are you that Fairy girl? The one who just joined?" she asked. Wendy nodded, getting nervous from the girl's rather dark tone. "I'm Minerva, the master's daughter." she reached out her hand and Wendy shook it. Wendy felt the immense amount of power the girl had from just a handshake alone, both in magic and status.

"Well, now that you're all here," Jiemma started, grabbing three orb-like lacrimas and handed the group one each. He handed Rogue a black one, Sting a white one, and Wendy a clear one. The second Wendy's hands touched it, she felt a surge of power rush through her.

' _It reminds me of Grandeeney…'_ she thought to herself, feeling the winds that were racing inside the lacrima. Nostalgia filled the girl as she held the lacrima tighter, _'Haven't felt winds like this in forever...'_

"Who would like to go first?" Jiemma asked, cracking a previously extinct smile. Sting and Rogue both looked at each other when Jiemma smiled. They had never seen him so nice to anyone. Shrugging it off, Sting immediately stepped forward, taking off his shirt. Wendy slightly blushed at the sight of the 14 year-old's very prominent abs, to which Minerva saw and chuckled at the innocent girl. Sting lied onto the table in the room and handed Minerva the Dragon Lacrima.

"This is going to hurt like hell," Minerva told him, but Sting brushed that aside. Minerva placed the lacrima onto his chest and it immediately began to sink into his skin, or rather, push aside skin so that the lacrima could get into his bloodstream. Sting's eyes immediately shut as he clenched his fist. He held back any curse word he thought of as the pain surged through his body. A burning sensation was overwhelming his chest and felt like it was never going to go away. However, after a few long seconds, the burning stopped. Sting opened his eyes and got up, looking at his chest. No scar was left behind, but he still felt a little sore. He noticed that he sweat profusely during the entire procedure and wiped down the sweat onto his shirt before putting it back on.

"You were right...that hurt like a bitch," he silently told himself before hopping off of the table. When his feet landed on the ground, the effects of the lacrima immediately took place. His sense of smell got stronger, as did his hearing. He could hear people from the entire guild talking and every door that was opened at closed. He could also smell the food that the barmaid was cooking.

"How do you feel?" a very concerned Wendy asked him. "If you want, I can heal your pain."

Sting shook his head, "I can take it. It's not that much pain," he shrugged before leaning against the wall. "In fact, I feel even better than before."

Rogue was next, the boy quietly taking off his shirt as Wendy continued to look at the ground in embarrassment, red all over her face. She couldn't really understand why she was suddenly so uncomfortable around them. Gray had been walking around half-naked in the guild, if not fully naked, and Natsu often wore a vest that exposed his abs to everyone.

"You ready, Wendy?" Minerva asked, interrupting the girl's thoughts as she grabbed the lacrima from the girl. Wendy began to shyly remove her jacket and tank top. She used to be insecure about her body a lot, but ever since she began to mature, she became more protective of it. Her chest began to grow at a rather quick rate and, while younger Wendy would wish for that, the now 14 year-old girl wished it would stop growing. She crossed her arms over her newly exposed chest as she laid onto the table.

Sting and Rogue, being boys, couldn't help but look at _that_ part of the girl's body. Not that they really wanted to, but their eyes were just naturally drawn to it. They were spotted by Minerva and were subsequently kicked out of the room, or rather, teleported out.

Wendy looked at the girl, "Your magic can teleport others?"

"Among other things, yes." Minerva nodded, giving the girl a rather creepy smile. Wendy, with slight fear in her, simply nodded.

"This will make you much stronger," Jiemma silently mumbled, internally smiling at the thought of Sabertooth's rising popularity. He could already see the job requests flying in as a result of Wendy joining.

' _With these 3 we can finally take over all of Fiore in a matter of years.'_

Wendy's pain tolerance did go up over the last 2 years as a result of many missions she went on, but the pain that the lacrima gave her really did hurt like hell. Her chest was on fire and she couldn't even feel her legs anymore. What felt like hours of pain lasted for a mere 10 seconds before everything diminished.

Wendy immediately grabbed her clothes and put them back on. She then hopped off of the table, thanking both Jiemma and Minerva for making her stronger. As she took in the new heightened senses, a slight breeze went through the room, the power within Wendy becoming prominent to the others around her. She then walked out of the room and joined Sting and Rogue to eat breakfast together.

"Wendy! Have you been crying?!" Carla flew to the girl, observing her tear-stained cheeks. Wendy blushed as she realized that she actually cried during the procedure.

"No, no Carla. It's okay! I just went through a little pain when they implanted the Dragon Lacrima in me." Wendy assured.

"They did that already?!" Lector asked, turning to Sting, "Are you stronger now, Sting-kun?!" Sting smiled at the Exceed and patted his head, nodding.

"Let's form a team!" Sting suggested, looking at the other two Dragon Slayers and their Exceeds. Wendy and Carla immediately agreed and turned to Rogue.

Rogue smiled as he cradled his beloved Frosch in his arms. "Yeah, let's do it."

The three then shook hands, smiling widely at each other in excitement.

"We're the Triple Dragons of Sabertooth."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I'm grateful for all of the favorites, follows, and reviews! Regarding Jiemma, I'm sorry for making it confusing for him to be nice! I wrote him like that because he was basically trying to get Wendy to leave Fairy Tail and join Sabertooth. Him being himself would have driven Wendy away. But don't worry! Now that she's joined, you'll see him change back into his old self in front of her.**

 **I will be doing one or two missions for the team to go on before team Tenrou comes back. It will set up their skills, relationships, etc. I'm not sure how I want to introduce Yukino, but she will join earlier than she joined Sabertooth in canon.**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters**


	4. The Triple Dragons of Sabertooth

**(A/N: Chapter has been updated with grammatical fixes since original posting)**

* * *

"Stop right there!" Sting shouted as he jumped down toward a figure running toward him. The figure stopped, but raised its arm, chanting a spell.

 **"White Dragon's Roar!"** Sting yelled out, shooting a laser from his mouth. The figure, without even being able to fire his spell, was shot and flown backwards, grunting from the pain. The criminal jumped back onto their feet and continued to run down the alley, hoping to get away. Sting simply smirked, "He doesn't even know what he's getting himself into..."

 **"Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash,"** Rogue, who was waiting for the person across the alley, chanted. He turned his body into shadows and then wrapped himself around the figure, assaulting them with shadows generated from his hands. The man took heavy damage from the attack, but kept himself up. He shot a light green beam at Rogue, who simply turned into a shadow, allowing the beam to pass through him.

"Dammit..." the criminal muttered before throwing a smoke bomb at the ground toward Rogue, running at his top speed away from Rogue.

Rogue, instead of taking after the man, simply crossed his arms and rested himself against the alley wall. "He's all yours..."

"You're not going anywhere," a female voice called out from above the man, **"Sky Dragon's Gale Force!"** she yelled out as she jumped down, generating wind onto her leg. She then kicked the man, knocking him out from the abundance of force she gathered. The girl then stepped into the light.

"Nice one, Wendy!" Sting called out as he ran toward the two. Wendy nodded at him as Rogue sweatdropped.

"Thanks, Sting…" he mumbled, feeling no love from his comrade. Sting simply laughed at the Shadow Dragon Slayer. He then took the unconscious man and cuffed him. He searched the man's pockets, pulling out a shining emerald from one of them. He tossed the emerald to Rogue, who nearly dropped it from Sting's lack of warning.

"Watch it! This emerald is really fragile!" Rogue yelled at the blonde guy. Wendy only chuckled at the two.

"You guys never change," Wendy smiled, shaking her head.

"Some things are meant to stay the same," Sting smiled back at the girl.

The blond got up with the man over his shoulder. "Let's turn this guy in and get out of here. After all, we have a birthday to celebrate," he told the other two, looking at Wendy. "Happy 17th birthday, Wendy."

Rogue also greeted the girl and she thanked the two of them. After 3 years at Sabertooth, and 5 years without Team Tenrou, Wendy has never felt so happy. Her days with Fairy Tail, which numbered less than a year, and her days with Cait Shelter will always be held dearly in her heart, but Wendy knows she made the right decision in joining Sabertooth. She's stronger, she's better, and she's just overall happier.

Wendy's appearance hadn't changed much, despite her big growth spurt that occurred over the last 3 years. Her hair was longer than ever, but Wendy kept it up in a ponytail and out of her face. Sting seemed to be wearing less and less clothes as the years pass, not afraid to show his abdomen to the world. As for Rogue, his robes hadn't changed much over the years. He's not one to really like change anyways.

The three then heard their names called out above them and looked up to see Frosch, Lector, and Carla flying, carrying a big sack full of jewels.

The jewels and the man were both turned into the local police and the Triple Dragons received their reward of 300,000 Jewel. They each split it equally and then left the town, flying on their Exceeds and heading toward Sabertooth.

"That was fun," Sting declared. Wendy and Rogue nodded in agreeance with the White Dragon Slayer. "But we should start going on S-Class missions again."

"As thrilling and rewarding they are," Wendy told him, "it's nice to just take an easy mission every once in awhile."

"Don't tell Master that," Rogue teasingly warned the girl, knowing that Jiemma would freak over that. Wendy nodded, knowing what that man was capable of.

"Yeah, don't want to end up like that last guy," Sting carelessly said before getting smacked across the head by Rogue. He turned to the boy, giving him an angry look before Rogue simply pointed to Wendy. The girl's expression dropped a little at Sting's comment. After all, the latest person banned from the guild was a friend of Wendy's.

"Sorry Wendy," Sting told the girl.

"It's fine," Wendy assured, "I'm just still kinda shaken from it all. It doesn't matter."

"It does," the teen corrected, "It _does_ matter. It is your birthday after all."

Wendy then smiled again as the three continued to be flown off toward their home.

* * *

The trip home was pretty brief and the entire guild seemed to set up for the celebration. There were decorations along the walls, a few signs, and a lot of food and drinks. This was not uncommon though, as the guild did it for Sting and Rogue's birthdays earlier in the year, and often did it for other members' birthdays. Birthdays were the one rare occasion where the whole guild interacted.

"Happy birthday, Wendy!" the guild yelled in unison. Wendy smiled at everyone and hugged her closest friends: Sting, Rogue, Rufus, and Orga. She would have hugged Minerva but the girl was out on a job. Master Jiemma was very kind to Wendy in her first year in Sabertooth, but once the guild won its first Grand Magic Games, he seemed to stop caring for everyone in the guild. No one even bothered to inform him of the celebrations, knowing he wouldn't show anyways. All he would do was make everyone go on hard missions so that they would get stronger and only show them attention when he decides to train them.

"A package came for you," Rufus told Wendy, tossing it to the girl. "From Magnolia."

Wendy's eyes lit up as she opened it. In it was a photo album, and on the cover was the Fairy Tail guild mark. Wendy opened it and saw photos of all of the current guild members. They each wrote Wendy a short greeting and message, updating her on their current lives. Wendy smiled at the photo of Alzack, Bisca, and Asuka. Asuka was deemed Wendy's godchild when she was born, an honor Wendy takes very seriously. She sends money every month to Asuka and her family, hoping to help them since Fairy Tail's job requests have numbered down.

Wendy placed the photo album back in its box and celebrated with everyone in the guild. Though she was only 17, people gave her and the other Dragon Slayers alcohol to celebrate. Wendy didn't drink much, but Sting and Rogue often drank too much for their own good. Wendy could only watch in horror at every drink the two chugged down. Though Rogue is a very calm person, whenever he and Sting have alcohol together, it turns into a competition. They ended up fighting with each other over which one of them wore their guild mark the best.

"Those idiots," Carla rolled her eyes as Wendy began to laugh at them when they fell on the ground, their sense of balance lost from the heavy intake of booze.

"What did Sting get you?" Rufus asked as he sat down next to the birthday girl, who gave him a confused look.

"What are you talking about?" Wendy questioned.

"He's been freaking out the past couple of weeks finding something for you. I don't remember him actually deciding," the memory mage told her. Wendy then looked at Sting, who was currently taking punches from Rogue, and blushed.

"I told him not to get me anything. I told Rogue, too."

"I don't think he understood that," Rufus said. He saw her blushing and smirked. "He never does when it comes to you."

* * *

"Sting, where are you taking me?" a blindfolded Wendy asked as the White Dragon Slayer dragged her across town. "Are you sure you are capable of guiding me? You reek of alcohol."

Sting just smiled and assured, "I'm pretty sobered up now. And just relax! We're almost there." Wendy knew he was lying, but trusted him anyways. Wendy wondered why she was surprised that Sting actually gave her a gift. Every year, she tells him she doesn't need a gift, yet every year, he never listens.

After a few more minutes of running, Sting stopped. Wendy, not seeing that, ran right into him. She scolded him for not warning her until he untied her blindfold, the view causing the girl to immediately shut her mouth.

"Oh my god…" Wendy trailed off, looking at the scene in front of her. There were lights shining of all different colors into the sky. The lights spelled out 'Happy Birthday'. The lights changed colors and began to change the words they spelled out. After 'Happy Birthday' came 'To: Wendy' and 'From: Sting'

"How did you…?" she asked, turning to the boy. He smiled and explained.

"I just found a bunch of lighting lacrima at the market and placed them together. Took awhile to figure out how to work them, but I eventually got it. I figured that since you're the Sky Maiden, the sky should greet you a happy birthday."

Wendy remained silent as she continued to take in all of the colors reflecting onto the sky.

"Sorry if it's pretty shitty," Sting gave a smile as he rubbed the back of his neck, "I couldn't really think of anything to give you."

Wendy just ran to Sting and hugged him tightly. The boy slightly blushed at the sudden show of affection and then hugged her back, stroking his hand through her ponytail. "It's not bad at all. It's beautiful, Sting. It really is."

Sting smiled as he hugged the girl tighter. He wanted to say something back, but couldn't find the words to.

"You are amazing, Sting," the girl continued, "Truly."

"I think I should be saying that to you, Wendy."

Wendy then released from the hug and lied down on the ground, where Sting placed a few blankets on, looking at the sky. Sting did the same, and the two stayed there for the night.

* * *

"There you guys are," Rogue said, crossing his arms and smirking at the two members of his team sleeping on the ground. Wendy woke up first, remembering what happened the night before. She looked up at the sky, but the light from the lacrima was outshined by the bright sun, erasing the message Sting made for her. She turned to Rogue, who was accompanied by the 3 Exceeds. Sting woke up right after her, holding his head as he went through a hangover. He groaned at the sudden light shining onto him, rolling over to hide it from him.

"Get up," Rogue told the two, "We're going on a job. It's an S-Class job and it requests only us."

"5 more minutes…" Sting begged as Wendy got up. Rogue then sent a shadow to Sting, creeping up Sting's body. Sting immediately got up, throwing light at the shadow. Rogue laughed as Sting growled at him. Sting then grabbed his head again, in pain from the headache he had.

"You're an idiot," Rogue teased, "You never learn to stop drinking so damn much."

"And how do you not have a hangover? Pretty sure you drank as much as me."

"It's called knowing your limit," the boy gave Sting a smug grin, "You should try it some time."

"Yeah, yeah..." Sting muttered, "Bastard..."

Wendy healed the suffering boy with what Sting had called the "Hangover Enchantment" and asked Rogue for more details of the request.

"There's been a series of bombings in the town of Rabenda. The request wants the Triple Dragons to find the source of the bombings and eliminate it." Rogue told her.

"I can do it on my own," Sting cocked a smile, showing his usual toughness as he effortlessly got off the ground, fully healed from the hangover. Wendy then slapped him in the arm.

"You're never going solo again as long as I'm here."

"You're no fun..." he mumbled under his breath. However, he knew that she was only protecting him. Every time Sting came home from a solo job, he would be injured pretty badly. Wendy is the one who both heals and lectures him. One time, Sting came home from an S-Class mission that was meant for all 3 Dragon Slayers. Sting, being pretty cocky with his strength, took it on without his two teammates. He was flown home by a crying Lector, unconscious. He stayed like that for 2 weeks despite Wendy's nonstop healing magic performed on him. She never left his side, sleeping in the same infirmary chair everyday. Sting would then awake to a sleeping Wendy sitting next to him. When she woke up, she hugged him tightly before scolding him for being stupid. It was that day that Sting decided to never leave his comrades behind. He would never admit to Wendy that she was right, but he knew that he was an idiot for testing his strengths by putting his life on the line.

The Triple Dragons agreed to leave for the mission right away. Carla and Wendy went to their apartment to get what they needed. Wendy's apartment wasn't anything special. It was simple and cheap, its rent being 80,000 a month. It was pretty big compared to other apartments of that price. The bedroom had its own private bathroom in addition to a bathroom by the living room. Wendy does not spend much time in here, however, because she is always out on jobs with Sting and Rogue.

When the two got inside, all of Wendy's presents were there. Carla and Lector ended up flying them there while Rogue and Frosch were looking for Sting and Wendy that morning.

"What should we bring?" Wendy asked. Carla answered the usual: Water and food. Wendy sweatdropped and said, "Other than that…"

"It's a mission. Not a vacation." Carla pointed out. Wendy sighed and agreed. Wendy finished packing her backpack and went outside, crossing the street to Sting and Rogue's apartment.

"Shall we go then?" Rogue asked at the sight of Wendy walking across the street. Sting nodded and the three Dragon Slayers let their Exceeds carry them.

They flew out toward Rabenda, unknowingly preparing themselves for what would be one of the most impactful missions they'd ever experience.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I decided to do a little timeskip so that the mission the 3 are about to go on would show just how strong they got, especially Wendy. Writing Wendy is so interesting because, with her young age in the series, she has a lot of potential when it comes to her power. With a dragon lacrima implanted in her, she _will_ be pretty strong. She is already strong in canon but in this series she can probably fight Natsu and win. But, as the series progresses, if she seems too overpowered, just let me know! I'm open to criticism (so long as it isn't flames) as well as compliments :)**

 **I have a lot of plans as to how this series will pan out. I'm so excited to write about the Grand Magic Games in X791 because that will truly be the Triple Dragon's shining moment. But for now, enjoy this mini-arc I have for this mission. Next chapter will introduce a certain character that will be crucial to the 3 Dragon Slayers.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters**


	5. Rabenda: the City of the People

**(A/N: Chapter has been updated with grammatical fixes since original posting)**

* * *

"We're here," Sting told the other two, seeing the sign that read 'Welcome to Rabenda: The City of the People!' The Exceeds landed, nearly out of breath from the long flight.

Everyone looked at the town. It was burning and consisted of a pile of ruins and debris. Screams echoed from all over as the whole place was destroyed.

"The poor people…" Wendy quietly mumbled, clenching her fists at the sight of tragedy. The group continued to look around before they heard the sounds of a door opening and closing. They turned their heads and saw a woman come out from a building, running towards them.

"Thank goodness you guys came!" she yelled, her face full of gratitude, "We need you guys to-"

"LOOK OUT!" another voice, this one of a man's, yelled from inside the building. The Triple Dragons all looked up at the sky, seeing a large bomb falling right above them. The woman ran back inside, telling the group to follow her inside. Sting and Rogue immediately followed her. When Sting turned around to face Wendy, however, she was still where they first were, right in the middle of danger. Sting ran back and grabbed Wendy's shoulder, but she shrugged him off and told him to get inside.

"Are you crazy?!" he exclaimed at her, "This job is gonna be a hell of a lot harder without you in it!"

"Just get inside, Sting. I gotta see something real quick."

Sting reluctantly nodded, turning around to go leave her behind.

"Carla," Wendy turned to see that her Exceed companion hadn't left her side, "Can you get me to the bomb?"

Carla nodded, grabbing hold of Wendy's back and beginning to fly her upward.

"Wendy!" Sting yelled out, seeing what she meant by 'seeing something'. Both Sting and Rogue began to run toward her, but the woman dragged the boys and their Exceeds inside, only letting them watch instead of helping the girl.

Wendy and Carla flew straight to the bomb, which was falling down rather slowly considering it's massive size. When they got to it, Wendy swiftly formed a wind barrier around it. By doing so, Wendy took the wind barrier and threw it back up into the sky. She then made the wind go underneath the bomb and simulate the pressure the bomb would feel when it would hit the ground, allowing it to explode in the air instead, hurting no one. The people below all cheered until another bomb came down. And another. And another. They were coming down even faster now and Wendy had trouble stopping all of them, but she still was managing to keep up with the bombs. As she exhausted her magic, however, she ended up letting one bomb slip through toward the ground.

"Wendy you missed one!" Carla announced and Wendy tried to stop it with a wind barrier, but the bomb was heading too fast for the barrier to stop it. Wendy kept trying, but her distance was too far from the bomb and Carla only had so much energy left from the group's flight to Rabenda. Wendy's eyes widened as the bomb picked up speed as it went toward the building where the entire town and her comrades were in.

 _'No...not like this...'_ she thought, hoping for the best.

 **"Open,** " a quiet, female voice suddenly emerged from the ground, " **Gate of the Heavenly Scales: Libra."**

Carla turned Wendy around, looking at the ground. There was a white haired girl standing, donning a blue and white cloak that flared to her feet. Next to her, a celestial spirit, one of a woman with a cloth covering the bottom half of her face, came out. Her clothing resembled that of a belly dancer and she wore numerous bangles on her arms and legs. In her hands were a pair of scales, dangling by a thin string. The scales began to glow and the spirit sent the bomb back up into the air, and it exploded in the sky. Wendy immediately recognized that the spirit, Libra, used a change in gravity to send the bombs back.

"A Celestial Spirit wizard…" Wendy trailed off, never encountering one since Lucy. She looked above her and observed that the bombs seemed to have stopped. Carla then flew to the ground and Wendy went to the girl. The other members of her team managed to get out of the building and ran toward Wendy.

"Nice one, Wendy!" Sting yelled out his usual compliment to the girl.

"Thanks, but that last one wasn't me," Wendy admitted to the others.

"The bombs have stopped for now," Rogue added after examining the sky, "But expect a return soon." The group then stopped when they saw Wendy, staring at the white haired girl who saved everyone in the town.

"Who is this?" Sting asked as he joined Wendy in staring at her.

"My name is Yukino," the girl replied, "I was walking through towns and got word of an attack here. I came to help you guys."

Rogue then spoke up, "Which guild sent you?"

The girl shook her head. "I'm not in a guild." Rogue then internally gasped.

' _She's alone_ _?'_ he thought, examining her. The girl was no older than 16, her brown eyes still full of so much youth.

"You have one of the 12 gates," Wendy pointed to the girl's hand, which held the gold key that opened the gate to Libra.

"2 actually. I also have a contract Pisces." Yukino explained, bringing out her collection of keys. Those were the only 2 keys Lucy failed to find. Wendy then turned to Libra, who was standing next to Yukino.

"The other 10 gates. Are they-"

"They haven't been summoned since X784." Libra told her, knowing what the girl was asking. Wendy sighed, knowing why.

"I knew their owner, Lucy. She disappeared in X784, along with many of my friends." Wendy's mood immediately went south as her face put on a sad look.

"I'm sorry about that. The other 10 spirits aren't sure what happened to them either," the gravity spirit explained.

Sting and Rogue comforted the girl as Frosch hugged Wendy's leg. It had been 5 years, but the wound still felt pretty fresh every time Wendy had to talk about it.

"You are welcome to help us stop these bombings," Rogue told Yukino, holding his hand out. "I'm Rogue." Yukino shook his hand, giving him a warm smile.

"Nice to meet you, Rogue-sama."

"'-sama'?" Rogue questioned the high honorific she gave him, "What makes you use that?"

"I use it with everyone. My older sister used to tell me that using it was another way of being polite."

The others introduced themselves to Yukino as they went to the last standing building for shelter. Rogue and Yukino teamed up and drew a map of the town as Wendy and Sting tried to work out a solution.

"There has to be a hidden base in the sky." Sting declared, but Wendy shook her head.

"I can't sense any structure in the sky. Maybe someone is teleporting them here." Wendy suggested.

"The bombs all came from across these points," Rogue said, drawing a line through all of them.

"They seem to be going in a pattern," Yukino pointed out, tracing her finger over the line that Rogue just drew. Each bomb was placed within a certain area, forming a circle. Inside, certain patterns were drawn. The circle's patterns were symmetric to one another. At this, Yukino and Rogue both gave faces of realization as they looked up to the rest of the group.

"They're forming a magic circle!" they said simultaneously. At this, an explosion sounded from nearby. The group ran outside and saw an abundant amount of bombs falling from the sky.

"Rogue! Get the people out of here!" Wendy yelled. Rogue nodded and placed his hands on the ground.

 **"Shadow Dragon's Vortex,"** he silently chanted. A shadow formed on the ground and the people began to slowly fall into it.

"Where are you taking us?!" the woman from earlier, revealing herself as the mayor of Rabenda, asked as the others began to cry out in fear.

"I'm teleporting you out of here," Rogue answered. Once everyone was in, he closed the shadow and sent it to another town around the area. Rogue then ran out and joined the group. Libra and Wendy were sending bombs upwards as Sting shot them to smithereens. Rogue opened another shadow to take in the bombs, keeping the bombs in the realm of the shadows to explode without destroying anything.

Wendy looked up at the sky, searching for the source of the bombs. If someone was trying to make a magic circle, why do it with bombs?

At the sight of another bomb, a figure was seen holding it. "Carla, max speed!" Wendy instructed. Carla, with her magic now replenished, did as told and flew Wendy to the figure, using the rest of her magic to propel them.

 **"Sky Dragon's Roar!** " she shouted, releasing the roar to the figure. The figure simply held out a hand and a portal appeared. The attack went through the portal. The figure then created another portal on the ground. Wendy looked and saw that both Libra and Yukino were hit by the attack, knocking them out cold and sending Libra back to the Spirit World. The attack made all of the bombs Libra was sending upwards begin to fall to the ground.

"Someone help them!" Wendy yelled. Sting and Rogue looked at where Wendy was pointing and immediately ran to get rid of the bombs there. Yukino eventually woke up and was carried by the two Dragon Slayers.

Wendy looked back to where the figure was, but they were gone. She and Carla flew back to the ground and the bomb attacks stopped, being unsuccessful now that everyone managed to stop them.

"The teleporter. They use portal magic," Wendy told the group. They nodded and looked back up into the sky.

"Great. Now we just gotta figure out where that bastard went," Sting sighed.

Wendy looked back at the sky, searching for the figure.

"His magic...I've seen it before..."

* * *

 **A/N: Surprise! Here's a quick update for you guys! Here's the introduction to Yukino! I hope that she won't get too OOC later on. Anyways, here's the first official chapter to this new mini-arc! It won't last long, and right after this will probably be the GMG.**

 **As always, leave feedback for me to improve! I'm glad a lot of you like this story and I want to make it better. I'm also open to suggestions. I read all of the reviews and I will consider every suggestion you guys give.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters.**


	6. Facing the Past

**(A/N: Chapter has been updated with grammatical fixes since original posting)**

* * *

After a lengthy flight in the clouds, Sting and Lector landed onto the ground, shaking their heads. No one could be seen in the sky. No one anyone could smell or hear.

"He has to be back soon, right?" Yukino asked and Rogue nodded.

"I do not sense a shadow of anyone different on the ground," Rogue added as he finished scanning the area, "but it is obvious that the magic circle is not finished."

"But there is more than enough of the circle done to perform some type of magic," Yukino pointed out, still studying the map she and Rogue created. Those markings looked so _damn_ familiar, but where had she read them?

"Assuming the circle he's making is supposed to be symmetric, he's missing the most details in the southwest region of the city," Rogue observed the map the two had drawn, "Sting, Wendy, can you two go over there to be on lookout for the guy?"

The two nodded, beginning to head toward the designated area. Suddenly, more bombs began to fall from the sky, right in the region Rogue had predicted it would be. Sting began to sprit over to the area as Carla immediately flew Wendy up to find the person behind the attack.

"This guy never learns," Sting rolled his eyes as he shot beams of light to destroy the bombs.

Wendy, now high in the sky, sensed the person dropping the bombs and had Carla sneak them up to the bomber. She got close enough to them to see their body fully. The person was a male wearing a hoodie and face mask. Alongside their portal magic, they are able to fly. Once again, Wendy felt a familiarity with the guy's magic.

"Carla, quietly get me behind him so he can't send my attacks into a portal," Wendy whispered to her companion. Carla nodded and did as told, succeeding as she got Wendy a few feet behind the guy.

 **"Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang!"** she yelled as a wind stream formed, her hand being the handle of it. She swung her arm in an arc, the wind hitting the guy in his back. His hoodie was ripped open as he began to fall out of the sky. Wendy saw his back and immediately recognized the symbol that was placed on it. The symbol of a feather that was just too hard to not recognize for Wendy. Her body went cold as Carla began to descend them toward the man.

"Midnight Feather…" she trailed off as she stared in disbelief. _'So that's where I saw his magic before. He was one of the high ranking members. But I thought the guild had disbanded...I defeated their leader...'_

The man then formed a portal underneath him and fell into it. Above Wendy, the man appeared, kicking her and Carla down onto the ground. The others immediately ran to her, all of the bombs stopped. They all engaged into combat with the man, with Yukino calling out Pisces as she sent Libra back to the Spirit World. The man managed to send each attack into a portal and made it hit the group members.

"We're beating ourselves up," Rogue said, his words matching the ones that everyone else were thinking. He looked at Sting and Wendy and they all nodded to each other. Yukino could only watch in confusion. Suddenly, the three Dragon Slayer's bodies bodies glowed. Sting and Wendy's glowed white as Rogue's glowed black. Markings began to form on the two boys. White markings were spread on Sting's exposed abdomen, shoulders, and face. Black markings were placed onto Rogue's face, similar to Sting's. Both of their hair went all to way up. Wendy's eyes and hair turned pink and dragon scales formed on her back, hands, and feet.

"Amazing power…" Yukino trailed off is awe.

"If they're using Dragon Force this early, this opponent must be worth it," Lector pointed out.

"I remember this guy now," Wendy stated to the others, "He was a member of Midnight Feather. His magic has a limit. He can only keep 20 portals open at a time."

"Then let's give him 21 attacks," he smirked. Wendy smiled back, reminded of her sworn brother, Natsu. Sting always told her how he idolized him, always wishing to beat him.

Because of their heightened speed in Dragon Force, along with Wendy enchanting the three, they were able to get well over 21 attacks toward him. Yukino decided to leave this fight to them and had Frosch send her into the air to observe the sky.

The portal mage couldn't keep up with the 3, running out of energy quickly. However, the attacks he was hit with didn't seem to hurt him that much.

"This guy's got some tough skin," Rogue thought out loud as he threw more attacks to him. The man sent them through portals and they hit Wendy, who took no damage whatsoever.

"He's part of Midnight Feather. They're not going down that easily." Wendy told him.

"You never did tell us how you managed to defeat all of guild," Sting turned to the girl, "I would love to hear the story one day."

"It's not much of a story to tell," Wendy shrugged, "And besides, I wasn't the one to defeat everyone. Fairy Tail did most of the fighting while I gave support, though I admit that there were times where I had to take control."

* * *

" _Everyone! Get up!" Wendy yelled out in pure agony as she scanned the entire area. Everyone in the guild was down. The closest guild willing to send help was 2 hours away by train. There was no one else who was willing to help. They were on their own. And now, Wendy's on her own. The girl sighed when no one responded. Even Carla was knocked out from the blasts. Wendy began to cry at the sight of everyone too injured to fight._

 _Wendy then turned toward Midnight Feather's troops, seeing them in the distance, readying the cannon they had built to destroy the guild building. She watched as they loaded the cannon up with their magic power._ _The girl then took a deep breath, feeling the ethernano in the air that was building up thanks to the troops' overflowing magic power seeping into the air._

" _Natsu-san, Gajeel-san, Laxus-san…" she named the missing Dragon Slayers from the guild, clenching her fists as she got up from the ground. Suddenly, Wendy's body began to glow a bright white as the ethernano in the air began to sink into her cells. Her hair and eyes turned pink as scales much like Grandeeney's formed on her skin._

 _"Lend me your strength."_

 _Winds began to blow everywhere around the town as Wendy's power rose to new levels. The first few rows of Midnight Feather soldiers were blown away, causing the entire dark guild to stare in shock and awe. The winds roared loudly as Wendy simply stood, staring down each and every member of the guild._

 _"Amazing..." The Fairy Tail members on the ground all trailed off as they began to wake up, seeing Wendy turn her rage and determination into power._

 _Wendy then attacked everyone who was charging the guild building, blowing abundant gusts of wind right at them._

" _Get out of this town," she demanded, wind forming behind her. The tears she wept turned into fuel for her rage._

" _Get out of my home," she told them, the wind behind her knocking down two more rows of soldiers as they were marching forward._

" _You have made an enemy out of a guild you do not want to anger!" she yelled, sending more wind, knocking down more soldiers. Midnight Feather's strongest member only watched in shock. The 13 year-old girl that seemed weak and fragile was now experiencing a major boost in power. No matter the attacks their best soldiers sent, the little girl only knocked them down._

 _Wendy lowered her eyes, looking straight at the master of the dark guild. The man gulped, standing powerless. His magic power was controlling soldiers and now he has no soldiers to control._

 **"** _ **Dragon Slayer Secret Art,"** Wendy began, pressing her palms together. Wendy remembered how Natsu once used this magic, knowing that the effects were powerful. The winds behind her began to turn red with anger and rage in a sight that no one had ever witnessed before. Wendy felt a familiar feeling inside her head. It was as if Grandeeney was channeling her knowledge into Wendy. At this, Wendy suddenly learned her the name of her new spell. **"Shattering Light: Hell's Winds!"**_

 _The red wind formed a single stream toward the man, who was too scared to move. The second it collided with his chest, he was knocked back. The wind then wrapped itself around him and exploded once it finished wrapping around him. The man flew into the sky, immediately losing the battle._

 _Wendy stance began to wobble as she exited Dragon Force. She immediately fainted from the overuse of her magic. She had done it, but only because the rest of the guild managed to take down most of Midnight Feather's strongest wizards. In her mind, The master was just a coward who fought behind his soldiers' protection, and she had just finished off what her comrades had started._

* * *

"Who reformed the guild?!" Wendy yelled out to the portal mage. With his mask and hood ripped off of him from the attacks, his smile was seen by everyone, as was his dark, black hair and cold brown eyes.

"No one did. I just never erased my mark," he told her, "But send them my regards." The man gave an evil smile as he formed a portal underneath her, sucking her in immediately. However, no portal appeared to drop Wendy out of it. Sting yelled out the girl's name as the man laughed.

"Was that really the girl who took down Midnight Feather's 'strongest' master 4 years ago?" he mocked. Sting growled as Rogue stood next to him, his eyes also full of anger.

"Yeah, it was. And we're her comrades!" Sting yelled out. **"White Dragon's Holy Breath!"**

 **"Shadow Dragon's Roar!"** Rogue joined. Two large bursts of light and darkness came out of their mouths, hitting the exhausted portal mage. Sting's attack created a crater in the ground from its power. With Rogue's attack, they were confident that the attack would work. The portal mage grunted, the attacks too quick for him to send through portals. He was sent flying backwards, but managed to land safely on the ground.

"Where's Wendy?!" Sting yelled out, running toward the man. Rogue turned into a shadow and went behind the man to keep him from running. The man only smiled.

"She's trapped in one of my portals. I can either send her to her death or leave her in between dimensions of space. Either way, she's dead."

"Bastard!" Sting shouted, punching the man with all of his strength while yelling, **"White Dragon's Divine Punch!"** The man only wiped his mouth of the blood from the punch. He then lifted his right arm and smiled.

"One more step and she's dead."

* * *

"Frosch, can you go a little higher?" Yukino asked the Exceed flying her above the city. Frosch nodded and did as asked. Yukino then looked at the city, observing the marks the bomb made.

"It's obviously a magic circle, but the markings inside are different than anything I've ever seen. Even if we managed to stop the bombs, I think I remember where they were dropping from," Yukino thought out loud. She then drew the bomb's projected locations onto the map in her hand. Once she was done, she gasped, scaring Frosch as he almost dropped her. Yukino let out a "Kya!" when Frosch's grip on her loosened and Frosch apologized a million times.

"Frosch, we need to get to the ground and talk to Rogue and the others," Yukino commanded.

* * *

The man was cackling as Sting and Rogue stood practically powerless. He was hanging Wendy's life over their heads. The two Dragon Slayers clenched their fists, their anger rising.

Yukino and Frosch landed on the ground but were stopped by Lector and Carla from running the Sting and Rogue. Carla, in her most worried state, told Yukino about Wendy. Yukino then opened Libra's gate, hoping for a solution.

"Libra, do you know where the objects go through when sent through the portal?" Yukino asked the Celestial Spirit.

"I believe that it is the same I go space I go through when you call a key. Keys and portals work practically the same way. If you send me back, I will have only a split second to look and find your friend, but I will try my hardest." Libra explained.

"Please try..." Carla whispered over to the spirit, who nodded. Yukino then thanked her and sent Libra back to look for Wendy. She then immediately recalled her and out with her came Wendy, knocked out but unharmed.

The man looked at the girls, frustrated that they found a hole in his trap. He growled, his eyes now glowing a bright red.

"Guess that's our cue," Rogue smirked before attacking. Sting followed, hitting the man with all of his strength.

"I'm...all out of energy. Impressive..." the man whispered, "but my energy is not necessary for this. You brought this upon yourselves." He raised both of his arms up. Suddenly, some of the debris in the city began to glow.

"NO!" Yukino yelled as she ran toward the portal mage, "Don't do this!"

Everyone gave the girl a confused look, not knowing what she was referring to. The man only smiled and laughed at the confused people.

"Behold, the true power of Midnight Feather!" he yelled out. All of the glowing debris then lifted up into the air and began to spin rapidly. Wendy woke up and saw what was going on.

"The ethernano in Magnolia was perfect for this, but I guess Rabenda is good enough," he muttered to himself. Wendy then gasped as she heard Magnolia being mentioned.

"That's why you guys attacked Fairy Tail…"

The man nodded evilly, "Cannons were a poor choice to make the magic circle with, but bombs are perfect! Now I can finish what Master started! I will give Midnight Feather all the power in the world! I will end the lives of all who have wronged my guild!"

Suddenly, the air began to thin out. The constant spinning of the debris caused a vortex. Everyone was coughing, losing their vision. Wendy tried her hardest to create air for everyone, but couldn't. Without the air around her, she was nearly powerless, the current state of the area weakening her the most due to her dependence on the air.

"Starting with you!" the man looked right at Wendy. Their eyes locked and a beam of light shot down from the debris in the sky.

 _"Wendy!"_ everyone wanted to yell out, but the oxygen was too thin and they had to save their breath. Wendy took a direct hit and the scorching hot light went straight through her body, nearly killing her. Everyone watched in horror as the man laughed at the helpless girl.

Sting reached his hand out to save her, his eyes full of fear. He tried to get up, but couldn't. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. They all saw Wendy's life being slowly sucked out of her as the light pierced her skin. Tears formed in Sting's eyes as he took his last breath, screaming her name out.

"WENDY!"

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! This chapter got a bit out of hand. I didn't want this mission to be super easy, but I think I made it really complicated. I don't know. Oh well.**

 **Also, new oneshot coming soon! It's the mission that was mentioned chapter 4(?). It was where Sting took an S-Class mission and ended up getting injured.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters**


	7. Holy Shadow Dragon

**(A/N: Chapter has been updated with grammatical fixes since original posting)**

* * *

Wendy screamed in pain as the light hit her entire body, the scream loud enough to make anyone's blood curl at the sound of it. Scorching hot lasers pierced her all over, nearly ripping right through her. Her vision went white for a split second before she fully knocked out. The others tried their hardest to get up and help her, but they were too weak from the thin oxygen as the man kept laughing evilly.

"Wendy..." Sting said her name once more, tears flowing quickly down his eyes. Rogue only gritted his teeth at as he contemplated what to do now. However, Sting already knew what he wanted to do. He just needed enough power to do it. The two shared a look before nodding at one another.

The man, laughing his heart out, stepped to Sting and Rogue, whose bodies were glowing white and black as they gave the darkest looks at the man, scales etching themselves into their skin.

"I took away your precious friend, just like she took all of mine. Call this act whatever you want, but know it is only fair."

The two boys clenched their fists in absolute rage as their Dragon Force seemed to gain more power. Their eyes began to glow red in fury as the anger pulsed through their veins. Forcing themselves, they got up off of the ground, ignoring the pain that was brought with their actions. The two looked at Wendy's injured body. They found no need for the air that was stripped from them, for their rage was the only thing they were living off of now.

"Sting," Rogue looked at the boy he was calling to. Sting then nodded and looked straight at the man, snarling.

 _'We may have failed this spell before...but now, Wendy needs us!'_ Sting thought to himself.

* * *

" _AGAIN!" Jiemma's voice hollered. Sting and Rogue, out of breath, got off of the ground._

" _Master, please let me heal the-" Wendy quietly began._

" _NO!" he shouted at the girl, "Sting, Rogue; again!" Jiemma yelled at the exhausted boys. Their 16 year-old bodies were giving out on them, but Jiemma didn't care. Sting and Rogue then used the rest of their magic to conjure orbs of either light or shadows. They placed the orbs next to each other, but the two magics wouldn't unite. Despite knowing this was wrong, Jiemma told them to cast the spell anyways. The two boys brought their fists forward and the orbs followed. However, after chanting the spell name, the orbs, instead of going forward, attacked each other, causing both Sting and Rogue to fly into the air from getting hit with the other's magic. Jiemma growled and spat out to the boys, "Pathetic. And you call yourselves Sabertooth wizards. I don't even know why I waste my time training you two." The man then turned to Wendy, "I'm going to go eat and then you and I will train afterwards." he informed the girl, who simply nodded as he walked back into the guild building._

 _Wendy ran to the closest boy, Sting, and healed him. She then healed Rogue next to her. Tears were falling from her eyes, feeling their frustrations. They had been trying to get this spell to work for weeks already, and still no luck. At this rate, they were probably going to kill each other before they can even get the spell to semi-function._

 _The two boys then sat up and gave warm smiles to the girl._

" _Don't cry, Wendy," Sting said, reaching his hand up to her face. He grabbed the stray hair on her face and put it behind her ear as the girl then leaned into his touch, closing her eyes in comfort, "We're not badly hurt anyways."_

 _He and Rogue then each grabbed one of her hands._ " _We just have to get stronger," Rogue assured. Wendy nodded, sniffling._

" _You guys will get it eventually. I believe in you guys!" she declared. The two boys smiled wider, knowing she was right._

* * *

"You can take away our air," Sting said through his teeth, a large sphere of white light forming behind him.

"You can take away our energy," Rogue added, forming his own sphere of shadows.

"But if you try to take away our friend," they said together, as if rehearsed, "You will pay!"

They both created orbs of energy in their palms and placed them together. A third orb of united energy formed, growing immensely as more rage surged through their bodies. Their rage was becoming one, as they cared for Wendy equally. Their focus and will united and their thoughts were becoming one. The others, still struggling to grab air for themselves, could only watch in amazement, as the man watched in complete horror. The laser was still recharging and his portal magic ran out.

 **"Holy Shadow Dragon's Flash Fang!"** they yelled in unison. They both punched their fists forward and the orb went with it. The orb of magic then shot out an immense amount of magic power, one that could wipe out an entire city block. Black and white swirled each other and locked onto its only target.

The man gulped and took the hit without a choice. His body was sent flying, taking all of the 2 Dragon Slayers' remaining magic head on. He immediately knocked out and, as a result, the debris in the air fell back down as the magic circle deactivated. The wind vortex fell and the group got their oxygen back. Carla immediately went to Wendy as the others went to Sting and Rogue, who were panting heavily.

"Someone help her!" Carla yelled out, crying. "Wendy…hang in there!"

"Wendy…" Sting and Rogue trailed off as they ran to her. Yukino then bent down next to the girl, feeling the girl's neck to check her pulse.

"Her heart is beating," Yukino announced as a wave of relief went through the others, "but her pulse is weak. She needs to get checked out soon."

"I'll bring her to the hospital," Carla declared, spreading her wings out as she activated her Aera magic. She grabbed Wendy and prepared to fly off of the ground.

"Wait," Sting told the Exceed. She looked at him, confused, until she looked at Wendy's body. Carla gasped at the sight below her.

Wendy's body began to glow white. However, it wasn't a harsh white that appeared in her Dragon Force. No, it was a soft white. Something similar to the light Wendy used on others. One that she used to heal.

"B-but I thought that she can't heal herself…" Lector said, walking next to Carla. Frosch joined them, agreeing with Lector.

"She can't…" Carla confirmed.

The wounds that Wendy suffered from the laser were beginning to close. The blood on her slowly went back into her body as Wendy's eyes began to slowly open. Every scratch that the attack made on her was disappearing as if nothing happened.

Wendy heard the others shout her name out. She couldn't remember what happened, but memories flashed before her eyes. She felt a stinging pain when she thought of the light hitting her. "H-how am I alive?" she thought out loud.

"You healed yourself, Wendy!" Carla hugged the girl. Wendy blinked a few times before processing what Carla had told her. She let out a confused noise and looked at her arms and legs.

"That's...impossible!" Wendy exclaimed. "Not even Grandeeney could heal herself…"

"Maybe your healing abilities were expanded when that lacrima was placed in you. It must have kicked in when your life was in danger," Rogue suggested as he remembered how much his shadow abilities grew after that lacrima was placed in him. Wendy and the others agreed to his claim.

"What were you hit with anyways?" Sting asked. Wendy shrugged.

"Not sure."

At this, Yukino stepped into the conversation, showing the map she drew the magic circle on.

"I recognized the glyphs that the bombs were writing on the ground," she pointed the the map. To what was a bunch of scribbles to everyone was a powerful spell, "They were once used in the mass murders that occurred in the First Trade War. I remember reading it in a book once. They were used by a dark wizard guild to eliminate all of its enemies in one blow." Yukino explained.

"Then why was only Wendy hit?" Sting asked, helping Wendy up and placing her arm around him for support.

"Thanks to us, the circle wasn't finished. The man managed to only hit enough bombs to set up a simple spell of just one laser that would need a long time to recharge." she answered.

"Then why aim for Rabenda? And why was Magnolia the original target?" Rogue asked.

"He said something about ethernano," Carla pointed out, "The 2 cities probably had a good amount of ethernano to support the weapon." Everyone looked at the man, who was still knocked out.

"How did you guys beat him?" Wendy asked. Rogue and Sting simply smiled and Wendy immediately knew what they meant.

"I knew you guys would be able to do it eventually," she smiled, leaning more into Sting as her legs grew weaker from her depleted energy.

"I got you," Sting whispered to her assuringly, lowering his height to make the girl comfy, and the girl thanked him.

"Eat some air, Wendy," Carla commanded her best friend. Wendy nodded, desperately needing energy. She opened her mouth and began to suck air in.

"We need to fix the city and get the people back," Rogue stated the obvious. The others all nodded as they looked around to see the completely demolished city. Yeah, they've seen damaged cities before, but not like this.

However, as if on cue, the debris began to glow and form back into buildings. Everyone gave confused looks as the city returned to what it was just a few days ago, before any bomb was dropped on it.

"What the hell is going on?" Sting asked, speaking for everyone.

"There's other people here. I can sense them," Wendy announced as she wiped her mouth from her meal. Rogue nodded, sensing their shadows on the ground.

Wendy's nose then picked up an _utterly_ familiar scent. One she hadn't smelled in years. Her memories were racing to find whose scent that she was detecting.

"Wendy," a soft, calm voice said. Wendy looked up, recognizing it right away. In front of her stood 3 people in dark robes and hoods. The person in the middle stepped closer to the group and took off their hood. As Wendy predicted, a man with blue hair and a tattoo above and below his right eye stood in front of the group.

"Jellal," Wendy mimicked his greeting. Next to him, the two other wizards took off their hoods. One was a woman of black hair and another was a girl with long, pink hair that was tied back into a wavy ponytail. The latter looked to be around the same age as the Triple Dragons.

"Jellal?" Rogue asked.

"As in the escaped convict?" Yukino added, however, she already knew the answer. She remembered reading a lot about his days as Siegrain and the Council.

"Why are you here?" Sting asked the three, stepping forward, looking for a fight. Wendy, still being supported by him, placed a hand on his chest to stop.

"We are not looking for a fight or anything or that sort. We heard about the bombings and we sensed a dark magic being used here. One similar to that of Zeref himself." Jellal told the curious group.

"As a thank you for ridding the world of a potential apocalypse, we have an offer for you," the woman with black hair, Ultear, told the mages. They all tilted their heads in confusion and let her finish.

"We will make you stronger. By releasing Second Origin."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading and leaving wonderful reviews! Yes, I gave Wendy self-healing abilities. I hate how we have not gotten a lot of details of the abilities of Third Generation Dragon Slayers along with why Wendy can't heal herself. So, I decided to give her the ability to heal herself because we have seen how powerful a lacrima implantation can be for someone (Laxus, Erik/Cobra).**

 **Bringing Jellal and the others in was kind of unexpected for me, but you can't ignore creativity, amiright? And the release of Second Origin will really boost the Triple Dragons. They seem really strong, but they aren't anywhere near the level of Erza, Laxus, or Natsu. Besides, with the Second Origin released, there will be room for longer battles haha. Anyways, next chapter will conclude this mini-arc and become the bridge between the current time period (X789) to X791. So, yes, the GMG are coming soon! I will change a few things about it, including writing out Raven Tail. As much as I liked that part of the story, I see no need for it in this story. Hope you guys don't mind.**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters.**


	8. Second Origin

"What the hell is that?" Sting asked Ultear, referring to the woman's offer. She said that she would unleash something called a second origin, but no one understood. Ultear then gave her explanation of it and the others understood.

"Why do you want to do that for us?" Rogue asked, crossing his arms.

"Because you managed to stop the man using the dark magic circle with one hit," Jellal spoke up, "And we expect more dark magic to occur in your area. Because we are always moving in the country, Crime Sorcière needs people to get rid of the darkness while we are unavailable."

The group nodded and let Ultear start the process. She warned them that it would hurt, even flashing an evil smile as she said that. It was at that moment that the group realized they might have made a mistake in accepting the offer.

And _damn_ that offer hurt like hell. Worse than the pain of getting the Dragon Lacrima implanted. Even Yukino went through this process. No matter how many times she denied the offer, Ultear still made her go through with it. The woman was rather pushy for someone who seemed so calm.

The pain wouldn't go away for hours. It was excruciating, it was irritating, and it was unstoppable. Wendy was the first to eliminate the pain, likely because of her new self-healing abilities. When the pain stopped, Wendy got up to talk to Jellal, her once depleted energy replenished from Second Origin.

"Have you heard any news?" Wendy asked the man who was identical to the one who took her in all of those years ago. After Jellal had been broken out of prison by Ultear and Meredy, he reached out to her. Wendy was the first to learn of Crime Sorcière, but the two had lost touch after that.

Jellal shook his head and sighed. "The only theory I have right now is that they were teleported with the island to either across the world or another dimension," he said. Wendy then looked up at the sky.

"It's been 5 years. If they wanted to come home they would've by now, don't you think?"

"They're all Fairy Tail wizards, as were you. I may not have been in the guild, but I know how passionate Erza was—is—about comrades. Even if it takes 100 years, they'll manage to come back."

"The others have considered the worst. And I don't blame them."

Jellal placed a hand on his chest, closing his eyes, "They're not dead. I can feel Erza. She's alive."

Wendy decided to believe him, not questioning the bond he shared with Erza-san. She knew that they were close the second she saw them together back in the fight against Oración Seis. If anyone knew Erza-san well, it was him.

The others got up, their muscles sore from the procedure Ultear mercilessly performed on them. Rogue supported Yukino, who claimed that her entire body went numb. Sting begged Wendy to heal all of them, but her healing magic didn't work as well as hoped.

"Sumimasen," Wendy apologized, "I still don't have a lot of magic available."

The other three sighed, jealous of the girl's new ability to heal herself. Wendy silently laughed at them, teasing them playfully.

Jellal ignored the pain that the three had, stepping in front of the group.

"I'm afraid our paths must split," the bluenette announced, "Should we have a mission for you guys, you'll know."

Wendy nodded, shaking hands with Jellal as they agreed to the deal.

* * *

"This is Yukino," Wendy introduced the white haired celestial mage to her comrades. They had just returned from their mission, the Triple Dragons all covered in bandages despite Wendy's healing. The rest of the guild stared, as if judging her by her looks. Yukino shyly raised her hand and waved at everyone. Yukino was planning on going back to traveling around the world, but Wendy insisted she join Sabertooth. Yukino had always adored Sabertooth, but thought she wasn't good enough to join.

 _"Not good enough?" Wendy asked as the group walked toward the train station. The Exceeds were out of energy, and it was unfair to just leave Yukino behind, so the Dragon Slayers had to face the reality of riding a train again._

 _"You guys are the strongest guild in Fiore! I'm just a girl with a bunch of keys that do her fighting for her."  
_

 _Wendy grabbed Yukino's shoulder, looking her dead in the eye. "Yukino, I once knew a girl who kicked ass without even having to place a finger on the opponent. And that girl had the same magic as you. She was a strong wizard, and you're just as strong! If Sabertooth accepted me in one of my weakest states, they'll definitely take you in! And if they don't, I'll force them!" Wendy flashed an assuring smile._

"Uh...hi," Yukino greeted, blushing from embarrassment.

"What kind of magic do you use?" Rufus, walking up to the girl, asked. "I'm Rufus, by the way."

Yukino took out her keys, much to people's impressment. "I'm a Celestial Spirit Mage."

Rufus thought for a long second, placing a finger against his temple. He then opened his eyes, "As far as I remember, Sabertooth has not had a Celestial mage."

Yukino began to get to know the people in the building, befriending all of them. Everyone was on board with her joining. The only problem was asking Jiemma if he would let her in.

 _"He's intimidating at first," Carla told the girl as the Triple Dragons were all laying down, too sick to talk to Yukino._

 _"How intimidating?" Yukino wondered, trying to remember is she had read about his personality before. Unfortunately, he doesn't partake in anything related to the media._

 _"He'll probably try to scare you off," Lector shrugged._

 _"Scare you off!" Frosch echoed his friend._

"How many of the 12 Gates do you possess?" Jiemma interrogated. His stance was tall and condescending as he looked down at her. Unlike with Wendy, Jiemma showed almost zero care for the girl.

"T...two," she hesitated to answer.

"Only?" he commented, making Yukino stiffen at his lack of approval of her. Having just one gold key would normally get her into other guilds right away. Thinking quickly, Yukino then grabbed her keys and held up a black one with a snake body wrapping around the end of it.

"While the two Gates are powerful, there is one more powerful than all of the 12 Gates. The 13th Gate, Ophiuchus," she explained, perking Jiemma's interest. Wendy gasped, never hearing Lucy ever talk about it.

"Interesting. I'll let you join the guild on one condition" he gave her a stern look, "You become more powerful than the other Celestial Spirit mages."

Yukino nodded, "I have been searching for the other 10 keys. My spirits tell me that their owner has not summoned them since X784."

' _They are still owned by Lucy?'_ Wendy thought, ' _Jellal was right.'_

"Someone stamp her!" Jiemma, who ignored Yukino's comment, yelled to the other members, walking away to get to his office. The barmaid nodded and gave Yukino a mark where she requested it, on the left side of her waist. The Triple Dragons welcomed the new recruit. The guild went back to doing whatever it was they were doing before Yukino became a member. The Triple Dragons and their Exceeds, however, decided to go to Wendy's apartment to celebrate (Staying at Sting and Rogue's apartment would probably end up in a huge fight. Rogue always disapproves of whatever Sting does in their home, especially in front of guests. It was rather awkward).

"Yukino," Wendy looked at her new comrade. Wendy sat next to the Celestial Spirit wizard on the sofa, offering her a cup of herbal tea. Sting was currently searching for Wendy's 'secret stash of alcohol', which really doesn't exist. Wendy refuses to let alcohol into her home before she turns 18, but Sting still thinks she hides it somewhere around her apartment. Lector joined him, believing Sting's claim. Rogue, on the other hand, insisted on making dinner. He really was a great cook, cooking the best tempura in all of Jasmine (where Sabertooth is located). Frosch was his little helper, the two donning matching black aprons and white chef hats.

"What is it, Wendy-sama?" Yukino asked, sipping the tea.

"Is it true? What you said, about the 10 gates being owned by Lucy?"

Yukino nodded. "The contract does not fully end…" she stopped, giving Wendy a sympathetic look, "Unless a body is found."

Wendy widened her eyes, tears wanting to form once again. ' _Could they really be dead?'_ She shook her head. She had faith in Jellal's words. They have to be out there. Somewhere.

* * *

"The Grand Magic Games are coming up," Jiemma spoke to the members of Sabertooth, who were all bowing at his presence, "And I've made my decision as to who would participate."

At this, everyone looked around, smiling. The top members of Sabertooth were obvious, but everyone wondered who would take Minerva's place. She said that she did not want to participate in it this year, hoping to give the rest of Fiore a look at what other members in the guild can do. Besides, if she did participate again, it would be too easy.

"As always, Orga, I expect you to fight," Jiemma looked at the guild's Lightning God Slayer. Orga's body was surrounded by black lightning as a response, the 21 year-old giving off a cheeky grin.

"Sting, Rogue, Wendy," Jiemma motioned to the Triple Dragons. They all gave off a smile as they, as Natsu would once put it, were all fired up.

"As the fifth member," Jiemma looked around the room. The feared guild master made eye contact with every person in the room. He could easily spot the weakest members of Sabertooth in the back, along with the strongest up front.

The old man shot a look to none other than the memory mage he took years to train. "Your time has come, Rufus."

Rufus tilted his hat slightly in an act of courtesy as the Triple Dragons all congratulated him along with Orga.

"Yukino, you'll be reserve," Jiemma said before quickly walking out of the room. Yukino stood in shock, not expecting to be chosen. She joined the guild just a few days ago, so why did Jiemma want her as a reserve?

 _'He probably wants to see my abilities, should I need to participate.'_

The rest of the guild gave their team a congratulations, some slightly disappointed at their lack of acknowledgement from the master. The team of 6 met up together, talking about how they were going to easily dominate the Games.

"The Games are in 3 months," Sting looked up from the calendar, "So it's time to start our annual 3 month training period!" The rest of the team agreed, knowing that they had to get stronger since Minerva wasn't there to save their asses when they begin to show signs of weakness.

"It also gives us a chance to see what Second Origin is capable of," Rogue whispered to Yukino, Wendy, and Sting. The three all agreed with him, hoping to learn new and more powerful spells with this.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the X789 Grand Magic Games: Sabertooth!" the announcer yelled into the mic. Team Sabertooth walked out onto the stage, their arms up to get the crowd cheering louder. Rufus was competing for one day, but got replaced with Yukino after he caught an illness. The team completely dominated the games, which were an all-out battle between all of the guilds participating. The win was easier than expected. The Triple Dragons, along with Yukino, did not even need to release their Second Origin. They all made a pact to only release it when they really needed it.

As the crowd roared and confetti fell from the sky, Sting walked up to his comrades. "Yet another win," Sting celebrated, grabbing Wendy and Rogue's shoulders as he squeezed in between them. Wendy then looked up at the scoreboard. Every legal guild in all of Fiore participated, and the one that came in last was none other than Fairy Tail. Wendy looked at her former comrades, who were cheering for her. Sadness and disappointment filled their eyes, but they put on a smile and forced themselves to cheer for Wendy. Feeling guilty and sorry, Wendy looked away and resumed to listen to her teammates' conversation.

"No surprise. However, Lamia Scale almost landed a hit on us," Rogue pointed out, looking over the the guild that came in second place.

"I guess we're getting slower," Orga muttered, not impressed with that fact. Regardless of that comment, he accepted the trophy from the referee, holding it up and making the crowd cheer even louder. They then began to chant 'Sabertooth' over and over again.

Minerva gave a nod of approval to Wendy and the others, acknowledging their power. There really was no one stronger than Sabertooth. Her father created a dynasty, one that would last for ages. No one in the entire arena even remembered Fairy Tail from X784. No one rivaled the power of the tigers. At this, Minerva put on an evil grin. "Let all of Fiore fear us."

Wendy smiled at the crowd, waving to all of Sabertooth's fans. She then grabbed Sting and Rogue's hands, who grabbed the other members of the team's hands. They all lifted their arms up. The three Dragon Slayers' guild marks all shined in the light. Wendy's gold, Sting's white, and Rogue's black all glistened, catching the eyes of everyone in the arena. While Orga and Minerva were the strongest members of the guild, it was the Triple Dragons that gave Sabertooth all of the attention. The Sky Sorceress, the Shadow Knight, and the White Knight, were all seen as idols to their generation. Everywhere they went, they were met with some type of fan. They inspired people all over the world, something Wendy always wanted to do. She, Rogue, and Sting spent their childhood idolizing Natsu and Gajeel. Now, it was their turn to get the attention.

Sting flashed his charming smile at Wendy. Wendy felt a rush of red go to her face as she smiled back at her closest friend (other than Carla, of course). The group then began to exit the arena, Jiemma requesting that they go straight home after the competition.

"Let's go home, Wendy," he said as he walked her off stage. Sabertooth was already loading their things on the train and the Exceeds prepared to fly their transportation-hating partners home. Despite many reporters asking questions, Master Jiemma told everyone to ignore them and go home.

Wendy then smiled again, nodding, "Yeah; Let's go home."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Next chapter will be the start of the major arc in this series: The X791 Grand Magic Games!**

 **Regarding the agreement with Jellal, I won't be writing about missions against dark guilds and wizards. Those are pretty straightforward. The team goes against a bunch of dark wizards and win.**

 **Thanks for all of the favorites, follows, and reviews! I wasn't expecting this story to get even 1 favorite, so thank you so much for spending time reading this! The story recently reached 1000 views, a feat I'm very happy about. I only have you guys to thank for that :)**

 **The end of this chapter was pretty much written to show how much Sabertooth has been good for Wendy. She got stronger, became a role model, and found a home that she knows won't ever leave her. I also gave the Triple Dragons nicknames. Well, Wendy already has Sky Sorceress, but I gave Sting and Rogue 'Knight' nicknames. I like how Dragon Slayers have nicknames (Gajeel: Black Steel, Natsu: Salamander) and wanted Sting and Rogue to get ones that weren't 'The White Dragon or 'The Shadow Dragon'.**

 **Of course, if you have questions or concerns, please leave a review or send me a message.**

 **Don't forget to vote on the poll located on my profile! Help me decide what magic a character in my next story will use! In case you don't know, you need to be on the desktop version of the website and you need an account to participate. You can choose up to two options.**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters.**


	9. X791

"Romeo, let's get back to the guild," a woman of green hair said. The rifle in her hand disappeared as she walked toward the now 13 year-old boy. He stood at the dock, looking at the water. He remembered what his father had told everyone that morning.

" _Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus are coming to visit. They said that they have something we want to hear," Macao told the rest of the guild building. However, their faces were blank. They all just disregarded Macao's news, not hoping for anything special._

Romeo joined the woman, Bisca, and her husband, Alzack. They had gone out on a job together. Job requests for Fairy Tail are extremely rare and it was the three's turn to go on a job. Many wizards in Fairy Tail had to take up human jobs at other places to pay for their expenses, but none of them left the guild. They remained loyal to the guild.

When the three got to the tiny building, the other guild in town, Twilight Ogre, had come to do their daily round of bullying. It wasn't uncommon, the harsh words the guild took. No one did anything about it, but the words still hurt. Whoever told Romeo that words can't do damage were full of bull.

Just 7 years ago, Fairy Tail was the most powerful guild in all of Fiore, managing to take out 2 of the 3 main branches of the dark guilds' Balam Alliance. Many loved Fairy Tail. Now, the honor of being number one belongs to the uptight, brutal Sabertooth.

The words that Twilight Ogre used today were about the disappeared members of the guild. They all were insulting the 'cowardly' members who 'ran away'. Romeo, now really angry, clenched his fists at they ignited into purple flames.

"You have no idea the sacrifice they made!" Romeo shouted to the bullies, "They defeated Grimoire Heart and fought The Black Dragon itself! They didn't run away! They protected the world!"

The leader of the Twilight Ogre group smirked, knowing they had hit every Fairy Tail member where it hurts the most. "They did sacrifice themselves, but they left behind a half-ass group that can't even bring more than one job request in."

"Get the hell out!" Romeo screamed at the Twilight Ogre members. They stopped, slightly confused that someone would actually fight back. Romeo threw his flames to the members, but they were easily dodged. Macao worriedly ran to protect his son, knowing a battle was about to ensue.

"You're gonna regret doing that, kid," the leader of the gang said, cracking his knuckles. As he prepared to attack the fearless boy, he was suddenly kicked at the wall by a stream of bright, orange, and familiar flames. Romeo gasped, knowing who the flames belonged to.

"Open, Gate of the Goat: Capricorn!" a cheery voice yelled, and a goat-like humanoid was summoned. He was not familiar, but the person who summoned him was. More gasps filled the room.

"Ice-make: Lance!" another voice called out, and multiple lances of ice were fired, knocking out more of the Twilight Ogre members.

"Heaven's Wheel: Circle Sword!" a stern, mature, and female voice shouted. The remaining few of the Twilight Ogre members were knocked down mercilessly.

The group of people who saved the guild members stepped into the light.

"Sorry it took us so long to get back," Natsu began, smiling innocently. The rest of the missing core members of the guild were there, waving at their comrades.

"But we're home!" Lucy added, the rest of Team Tenrou smiling with them.

The entire guild building erupted in tears. Everyone, from Laki to Gildarts to even Laxus, was home. None of them aged over the 7 years and were all acting the same as they did back then. Makarov took the duty of explaining how they got back, telling them that they were protected from Acnologia thanks to one of the three Fairy Magics, Fairy Sphere. The spell lasts for 7 years, explaining their disappearance. They were found by Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale and were subsequently brought home.

Romeo smiled through his tears, hugging Natsu. "Welcome home, Natsu-nii!"

Natsu smiled and hugged the boy. He then looked around the entire guild building, looking for a certain blue haired girl. He still imagined her as a 12 year-old, innocent little girl.

"Where's Wendy?" Natsu asked.

"I wonder how different she looks now…" Lucy thought out loud, the rest of the once disappeared members nodding with her, imagining how much the girl has changed over the span of 7 years. Lucy's mind finally settled on the image of the Edolas version of Wendy.

"She's your age now, Erza, Mira." Gray pointed out.

Macao scratched the back of his head, nervously telling the group, "Wendy isn't in Fairy Tail anymore…"

The entire group erupted in a very loud, "EH?!" as a response to Macao's news.

"I'm gone for 7 years and you managed to lose a member of our guild?!" Makarov scolded the man who went to hide behind the bar counter.

"Where is she?" Natsu asked, preparing to head out and find her.

"I wouldn't try and get her back. She's in Sabertooth now." Wakaba chimed in, stepping in front of Natsu to stop him.

"Sabertooth? What's that?" Lucy asked.

"Long story short, the strongest guild in Fiore. And Wendy is one of the strongest mages in there." Bisca explained, hoping to stop the members.

"They are not a guild to mess with. You guys may be strong, but those guys are 7 years ahead of you when it comes to skill, knowledge, and technology." Alzack added, but the others were already leaving. Team Natsu decided that as their first mission in 7 years together…

They were going to get Wendy back.

* * *

"Doranbolt-san, what are you talking about?" Wendy asked through the communications lacrima on the bar counter. Doranbolt had called, saying it was an emergency.

"They're back!" he repeated himself over and over, this time talking slower so she could properly hear him.

"Who is 'they'?" Carla asked, transformed into her human form so that she could see the man on the lacrima. Just then, all too familiar scents entered the room, catching Wendy's attention.

"WENDY!" a familiarly loud and obnoxious voice cried out from the entrance of the guild. Wendy's eyes widened, frozen in shock as she kept staring at the smiling Doranbolt.

"SHARURU!" another voice, that of a male cat, shouted. Carla, recognizing it immediately by the way it pronounced her name, joined Wendy and went into a frozen state. What felt like an actual wall was keeping the two girls from turned around and seeing the faces that the voices belonged to.

"Is that…" Sting, who was standing next to Wendy, choked out, also shocked.

"Impossible…" Rogue, next to Carla, whispered as he observed the people who just walked into the guild building.

"Wendy, Carla we're back!" a girl, whose voice sounded just like Lucy's, assured.

Wendy and Carla kept staring into the communications lacrima, where Doranbolt was instructing them to turn around. The entire building went silent, staring at the two girls.

"You've grown, eh, Wendy?" another male's voice called out to her. Finally, Wendy, her eyes full of tears that didn't want to fall, turned around. There, she saw her old comrades. The ones who were supposed to be gone.

"We heard you've gotten pretty strong," the red haired woman told the girl. Wendy immediately ran to them, hugging Natsu right away before hugging Lucy, then Gray, then Erza. The entire group observed how much she had grown over 7 years. She was now 19 and her body was fully developed. Her hair was still as long as usual, now tied back into a single ponytail. Instead of wearing a dress or a skirt, she wore a pair of skinny jeans and a dark, red leather jacket.

"You're alive!" Wendy yelled between sniffles. They all gave a small laugh of assurance and explained to her how they were frozen for 7 years.

"Where's Carla?" Lucy asked after Wendy understood their situation on Tenrou. Carla, finally gaining the strength to walk over there, introduced herself.

"Why the hell is she a human!?" Natsu exclaimed, speaking for everyone else on his team.

"Is that what is going to happen to me in 7 years?!" Happy worriedly cried out, holding his face to make sure it was still in the form of an Exceed.

"No, male cat," Carla performed her habitual eye roll, "It's transformation magic," Carla told them before returning to her normal form. Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"Good, she's cute again…" Happy smiled innocently, running to hug her. Carla let him hug her this once time only because it had been so long since they saw each other.

"Welcome back," Carla whispered to the Exceed who never stopped offering her fish back then. Happy put on a pair of heart eyes to his crush, who just took a few awkward steps back from the blue cat.

"Well, now that we've explained everything," Natsu announced before picking up Wendy over his shoulders. Despite her being grown, Natsu still felt the need to carry her himself. Wendy let out a slight scream as she was unexpectedly picked up as Natsu finished what he was saying. "Let's get you back to Fairy Tail."

At the sound of this, the rest of the Sabertooth members woke up from their own frozen states. Immediately, they protested the plan. Natsu ignored them as he and the others began to walk out the door. Suddenly, two teenagers appeared in front of the group. One had his fist ignited with light and the other with shadows. Next to them were 2 Exceeds, standing tall in hopes of forcing Natsu to put Wendy down.

"Who are you?" Natsu rudely asked, not recognizing them. Wendy finally managed to break out of Natsu's hold of her and jumped down.

"These are my comrades. Sting and Rogue. The White and Shadow Dragon Slayers." Wendy introduced them as she and Carla walked toward her teammates and away from Natsu and the others. Sting wrapped his arm around her waist, as if trying to prevent her from leaving his side.

"More Dragon Slayers?" Gray thought out loud.

"Exceeds…" Happy acknowledged Lector and Frosch.

"How can 'white' be an element?" Lucy asked offhandedly, her question ignored by everyone around her.

"Wendy and Carla are Sabertooth wizards!" Lector announced, trying to get the Fairy Tail members to not take them.

"As far as I remember, Wendy left Fairy Tail 5 years ago," Rufus mentioned behind the Fairy Tail group. Natsu and the others turned around to see Yukino, Orga, and Rufus standing behind them.

"Wendy, you're always going to be a Fairy Tail wizard," Natsu told her, walking closer to the girl. Wendy then shook her head, much to the Fairies' shock. Wendy then unzipped her jacket and took it off, revealing a white tank top underneath. Wendy then pointed to the golden Sabertooth mark on her right shoulder.

"I'm a wizard of Sabertooth now. My loyalty belongs to them." she told them as Carla nodded in agreeance.

Team Natsu gasped at the girl's words. They thought it would have been a quick conversation with her before convincing her to come back. "Wendy…" they all trailed off.

"She's one of us now," Rogue told the group.

"And before things get ugly, I advise you guys leave," Sting added, now placing his hand on Wendy's shoulder in a protective manner. Wendy placed her hand on top of his, squeezing it tightly.

"Like hell we will," Natsu growled. He then ignited his fist in flames and smiled deviously. The others followed suit, getting into an attacking stance. "Moete kita zo!"

Sting and Rogue smirked, walking in front of Wendy to block her. Rufus silently memorized Fairy Tail's magic as Orga began to surround himself in black lightning. Yukino grabbed onto her set of keys, seeing the 10 gold ones that Lucy had her hands on. However, she chose not to fight, hoping her other comrades could do this without her. They were much more into this fight than she was. Both Yukino and Rufus stepped away from the center of the guild building.

"Open, Gate of the Lion: Loke!" Lucy opened Leo's gate. Loke subsequently came out in his usual fancy clothes and he fixed his glasses on his face.

"I am Fairy Tail's guardian spirit," Loke told Sabertooth's members right after he complimented Lucy's looks.

"Requip!" Erza chanted, transforming her armor into her Heaven's Wheel set. Gray then placed his right fist over his left palm and got into his familiar Ice-make stance.

"Don't think we'll go down without a fight," Gray smirked.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu yelled as he threw a punch to Sting. Sting grabbed Natsu's fist in the middle of the punch, extinguishing the fire as light ignited in Sting's hand. Natsu was immediately burned from the light.

"Don't go picking fights with 3rd Generation Dragon Slayers," Sting warned, not even needing Dragon Force or White Drive to show how powerful he was.

"3rd generation?" Natsu asked, not ever hearing that term. At this, Sting explained the difference between the 3 generations. The 1st generation was taught by a dragon, the 2nd given a lacrima, while the 3rd was given the power of both.

"3rd Generation, the hybrid generation, has much more power than you think."

"Why don't you show me then?" Natsu taunted, not scared by the title Sting gave himself.

"Ice-make: Cold Excalibur!" Gray yelled out, forming a large sword in his hands. He stood next to Erza, preparing to fight the Sabertooth members.

Natsu threw more punches toward Sting, each one getting either blocked or dodged. This continued until Sting managed to grab both of Natsu's hands and force him into a headlock.

Loke, defending Natsu, shot light at Sting to free the flame user. However, Sting ate the light approaching him and smiled.

"Thanks for the meal," he told the spirit.

"That's my line!" Natsu yelled, frustrated, as he broke out of Sting's grip on him, preparing to attack again. However, Natsu was immediately met by Rogue, who came out of the shadows and appeared in front of Natsu.

Orga was attacked by Gray and Erza, but his lightning easily made him go on the offensive. Loke eventually joined them, seeing as how Natsu wanted to fight the other Dragon Slayers alone. Rufus just sat quietly on the bar counter, observing every little detail of the fight, searching for any kind of weakness.

"What do we do, Wendy?" Carla asked the horrified teenager next to her. Wendy's tears began to fall at the sight of her friends fighting her other friends. She clenched her fists tight and wiped away the tears, hoping no one saw them.

"I...I don't know..."

"Whatever you decide, I'm here to support you," Carla assured, turning into her human form to comfort the girl. Wendy nodded and looked at the fight in front of her. Seeing Natsu fight truly was a wonder. She knew how Sting had always idolized him. She couldn't blame him, Natsu was just on another level than anyone else. So was the rest of his team, the team she used to be a part of. They were her best friends. Her family. But that was 7 years ago.

' _This is my home.'_ Wendy thought. She made up her mind, now knowing what she was going to do. _'They may be my old comrades, but I've been here for 5 years!'_

"I hope you're not actually considering going back," a woman's voice said behind Wendy. Wendy and Carla turned around to see Minerva walking up to the guild building, returning from yet another mission, "You aren't going to bail on the guild who has made you this strong? My father wouldn't like that, for sure."

Wendy, after bowing down to greet Minerva, shook her head. "My allegiance is with this guild. With Sabertooth."

"Good. Then let me take care of this mess."

"Arigatou, Minerva-san…" Wendy thanked the woman as she followed her inside. Right when Minerva stepped foot into the room, all members of Sabertooth did a slight bow of courtesy to greet her and the fighting stopped between Sting, Rogue, and Natsu.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Minerva told team Natsu. They only stared, not sure who this woman was. "While you may not be quite informed with the power these mages have, I am. I recommend you guys leave this instant, before things get...unpleasant."

"We're not going anywhere. Not without Wendy." Erza muttered, giving Minerva a cold stare. Minerva tilted her head, intrigued by Erza's ignorance to respect her.

"Oh?" Minerva smirked, "Perhaps we _should_ settle this now." However Minerva knew nothing was going to happen anymore. She could see Wendy in the corner of her eye. The 19 year-old Dragon Slayer was walking behind her, her eyes saying that she was looking to end this now. Whatever _this_ is.

"Please, just go," Wendy interrupted, her voice cold as she looked down. Her former comrades gasped at her words, "I told you guys. I'm a Sabertooth wizard. This is my home." the girl looked up, showing her tear stains that rested on her cheeks. Wendy then observed her surroundings. Tables were broken, beer was spilled, and food was wasted. "And you are going to destroy it!"

Winds gathered behind Wendy as a sign of warning to the group. "Wendy…" Sting and Rogue both said in concern. They knew that she was upset. She wasn't summoning these winds on purpose. This only happens when her emotions fully take over her. The inner turmoil Wendy was facing was apparent on her face. She didn't want to hurt them, but she didn't want her current and old comrades to hurt each other anymore. She was going to go out of control soon, and when that happens, she destroys everything.

Erza looked down, clenching her fist as she debated on whether or not to force Wendy to go back. "You've gotten so powerful..." Erza whispered as she transformed back into her normal armor.

"You guys had me wait for 7 years. I know it wasn't on purpose. I'm so glad you guys are all okay. I knew you'd come back eventually. But you can't just waltz in here and expect me to go back to Magnolia and leave my new family behind! I was a Fairy Tail wizard, but things have changed!"

"We'll leave," Erza said, calming the girl down. The winds that were emotionally channeled by Wendy settled down. "I'm sorry for not realizing that you've moved on. To us, you were a Fairy Tail wizard just yesterday."

Wendy nodded at the redhead, who she was now the same age with. "Arigatou..."

Natsu glared at Rogue and Sting, whose protective behavior over Wendy was unscathed. "This isn't over," he spat out at them.

"We'll settle this in 3 months," Sting said, mimicking Natsu's pissed off face.

"In the Grand Magic Games." Rogue added.

"But it won't be much to settle," Orga crossed his arms, "We're number one in the entire country. The battle is already decided."

"Number one, huh? I'll burn that title to ash." Natsu threatened, knowing he was going to get Fairy Tail back on top. "Fairy Tail will make the biggest comeback the world has yet to see!"

"Natsu-san," Wendy warned him, stepping in front of the Salamander. Her eyes were stone cold, and Natsu mimicked her stare, turning his eyes cold as well.

"You chose this guild for a reason," Natsu told her, "I guess I'll respect your judgement. But let me make on thing clear." Natsu put on his most serious face as he looked Wendy right in the eye.

"Whether it's against you or not, Fairy Tail will stop at nothing to be back at the top."

"I know. I expect nothing less from Fairy Tail. I look forward to the tournament. Until then, tell the others 'Welcome back' for me."

At this, Natsu and the others left, not showing the amount of hurt they were feeling on the inside. They really thought that Wendy was going to join them again. She always loved Fairy Tail. Once they got far enough from the building, Lucy began to cry over losing Wendy as a comrade.

"What were we thinking?" Lucy sighed, "She wasn't going to leave that place. She's all grown up now. She's moved on from Fairy Tail."

"That's not all true," Gray told the crying girl, "She still cares for us. Carla, too."

"Do you think she's happy there?" Happy asked the group, his question resulting in a nod from everyone there.

"That Sting character," Erza began, "Do you think he and Wendy are...?" She remembered how the two always made physical contact throughout the encounter.

"They lllllllike each other," Happy teased.

"I think Carla lllllllikes that Lector Exceed, don't you think?" Lucy teased back at the blue cat. Happy's expression did a complete 180.

"Sharuru is mine and I will win her heart back!"

Everyone laughed at Happy's newfound determination. They went back to Magnolia, preparing to train for the upcoming tournament, where they would settle this rivalry with Sabertooth.

* * *

"Why did you fight them?" Wendy faced her Sabertooth friends, his fists clenched in anger. Of course she's pissed off. She didn't get to spend more time with the friends she spent 7 years wondering where they were.

"They were going to kidnap you," Orga shrugged.

"We were just protecting you, Wendy," Rogue told her.

"I don't need protection. You guys, of all people, should know that!"

"Gomenne, Wendy. We got caught up in the moment." Sting placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Besides, they were the ones who picked the fight." Rufus remembered as he silently replayed the battle in his head.

"They seem really nice, Wendy-sama," Yukino confessed. Wendy smiled.

"They are. Extremely nice." Wendy then paused for a moment, thinking. She let out a long sigh, "I'm assuming we're going against them in the Grand Magic Games…" Everyone nodded.

"We've got 3 months of training to do!" Sting smiled, cheering her up. Wendy nodded and the Triple Dragons, their Exceeds, and Yukino all prepared to do their annual 3 month training before the Grand Magic Games. The four of them had started this tradition last year, exploring the expansion of Second Origin while also doing more research on their abilities (for Yukino, at least. Dragon Slaying magic's spells are too old to have been written down in any sort of book).

About a week later, the team left to begin their training in the mountains on the outskirts of town. As the group walked toward their destination, Sting turned to Wendy, wrapping his arm around her to comfort the obviously upset girl. She had been down the entire week and he knew why. A reunion that was meant to be full of smiles was replaced with one full of punches. The White Knight could see how much she wanted to cry. Normally, crying in Sabertooth was seen as weak, so Wendy cries whenever she's alone or whenever she's with her team, but never in front of Jiemma. He'd probably kick her out for showing a sign of weakness.

"You can cry if you want, Wendy. You know I don't think tears are weak." Sting supported her, giving a kind smile.

"It's okay..." she shook her head.

"Are _you_ going to be okay?"

"Of course I will, Sting," Wendy answered, "We're Sabertooth." At this, everyone smiled at her determination. Wendy then recalled Sabertooth's morals, ones that Jiemma taught her when she joined the guild.

"We fight until there's no opponent left standing. Fairy Tail is my opponent, and despite my past, I will fight for the sake of this guild!"

* * *

 **A/N: That was a lot longer than expected...**

 **Thanks for reading! They're back! Yay! The reunion between the Wendy and the others didn't quite go as planned, but I'm satisfied with this. Besides, I really wanted to write a fight this chapter.**

 **Sorry if Wendy seems really off this chapter :/ I was trying to convey that she is at a crossroads and that she was struggling with the reality that her old friends have made rivals out of her current friends. If you're confused as to how she is feeling, she is extremely happy that her friends are alive but she will not join Fairy Tail again. She made the hard decision to stay with Sabertooth. She knows she will have to fight them in the GMG, but her priority is the guild, not her old friends.**

 **Next arc: The X791 Grand Magic Games!**

 **I plan on changing a few things about the games (matchups, events, etc.) because I don't want to write the exact same thing Hiro did with just one change. Next chapter will be the introduction to the Games along with a quick elimination round.**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters**


	10. Grand Magic Games: Introduction

**A/N: In regard to the fight last chapter, I get that it is pretty unrealistic in terms of how Natsu and others reacted, but think about this: You find out you've been gone for 7 years. Wouldn't that make you pretty angry at the fact that you left everyone else behind for 7 years? It'd make me angry at practically the world. I wrote the fight to portray that Team Natsu was fighting because they wanted that time back. They just took it out on the group that was already ready to fight them back. Besides, it's Fairy Tail. They love to fight.**

* * *

"Ah, Crocus," Sting smiled brightly as he walked into the lobby of the large inn, "I've missed you."

Wendy smiled at her comrade, watching him jump onto the couch in the middle of the room. Sabertooth brought its entire guild to the tournament and, as a result of their recent wins, was given to best inn to stay at in Crocus. Every person got their own room and the rooms were pretty luxurious.

The rest of the Sabertooth guild walked in, and Jiemma saw Sting laying around and simply cleared his throat, making the White Knight stand back up.

"You're just lying around? Must I remind you of who we are?" Jiemma asked the blonde, who shook his head.

"Gomenasai, Master. I won't let my guard down, especially in such a week with this much importance."

Jiemma gave the teen a nod of approval before walking up the stairs to go into the biggest room there, the Master's suite.

A shadow appeared in the room and out of it came Rogue. "We're all checked in," he told the group. Jiemma used to be the one to take care of that, but now he just sits around and expects someone else to do that for him.

This year, as usual, team Sabertooth was comprised of the Triple Dragons, Yukino, and Orga. Rufus will be a reserve, though reserves are unneeded for this team. He will just observe the other teams and memorize how to defeat them.

The team subsequently chose their rooms and placed their stuff in them. They all chose to be on the top floor and were next to each other. They enjoyed the top floor because of the amazing view the balcony was given. They were able to see the entire city there.

"Let's head to town. We have interviews to do," Wendy told the group after they had finished unpacking. Over the three months of training she and the others did, she had really given some thought to the fight that happened with Fairy Tail. It got a lot more personal than expected due to Sting's unwavering desire to defeat Natsu. She realized that Sting wasn't really fighting for Wendy...he was fighting to surpass Natsu. Natsu was all he ever talked about since team Tenrou got back. He could really get full of himself sometimes, but overall, he was pretty amazing.

"Are you sure you want to go, Wendy?" Sting asked, "No doubt they'll ask you about Fairy Tail."

Wendy shrugged and walked out the door with Carla. She didn't spend all of the three months building up her physical skills. Her mental strength was at a new high. She now has better control of her emotions. She can hold in tears for a lot longer now (a pretty big accomplishment for the girl), and she made sure that her former comrades were not going to be a distraction. "I'm not going to pretend that they aren't here. I'm going to be seeing them all week, so let the press ask whatever they want."

Everyone else looked at each other and shrugged before heading out to join Wendy.

* * *

"Where's our interviewer?" Sting asked as the team sat at their media station in the middle of the city. Fans were there, the other guilds chosen to be interviewed were already almost done with answering questions, but where was Sabertooth's interviewer?

"Maybe they're too scared to ask questions," Orga smirked, his confidence as obvious as ever.

"Or they have no perception of time," Rogue calmly added. The 5 members sat in the order of Orga, Yukino, Rogue, Sting, and Wendy. Each one of them were tapping either their hand or their foot as they waited. Even the fans were beginning to leave, none of them walking up to the group to ask their own questions. The team then sat in silence for another 5 minutes before Sting's patience went to zero. As the blonde was about to stand up to go back to the inn, the five all heard something...unpleasant.

"COOOOOOOOOL!" an unfortunately familiar voice shouted. The 5 members of Sabertooth, along with the three Exceeds, all went pale at the sound of it.

"Please don't tell me that's who I think it is," Rogue sighed as Sting sat back in his chair. Everyone's face darkened, all of them wishing they weren't about to go through the most annoying moments in their lives so far.

"Jason from Sorcerer Weekly here! And let me tell you, you are all looking so COOOOOOOOL!" the eager reporter ran up to the team.

"Just ask us questions please," Orga practically begged, internally dying.

"COOOOL!" Jason shouted, making everyone's ears fall off, "I'll start with Wendy-sama!" he turned to the girl, who wished she would pass out or something to get away from this guy. He seemed so nice when she had met him, but now he was the one person every wizard hated to be interviewed by. "Looking beautiful as always, Wendy-sama!"

Wendy, not wanting to look rude, simply gave a nod of thanks and let the man start his questioning.

"How do you feel about going against your former comrades who the world viewed as dead 7 years ago?" Jason asked, getting out his pad and pen.

"He went right out with it…" Rogue breathed out offhandedly.

"I think it will be nice to show them how much I've grown over the last 7 years. There's no hard feelings, though. They should be able understand that Fairy Tail is in my past." Wendy told Jason, answering very maturely considering everything she went through the past couple of months.

"COOOOOL! And what about that fight that happened down in Jasmine? Care to explain what you were thinking during that?" Jason referenced the battle that took place 3 months ago. Memories flashed themselves in front on Wendy's eyes, forcing her to remember the horrific sight of her past fighting against her present.

"I've come to realize how immature it was on both sides. My old friends failed to accept that things have changed, and my current comrades," Wendy shot a look to Rogue and Sting and then one to Orga, "Just really love fighting." Wendy lied, making sure she didn't make them look bad. Had she blamed it on them, the press would no doubt turn those words around and make this whole situation more dramatic than it needed to be.

"COOOOL!" he wrote down her answer, "Now, the fans are dying to know. Is it true that you three are in a love triangle?" Jason asked, pointing to the Triple Dragons. Yukino and Orga both sweatdropped as Wendy blushed greatly, hiding her face from the reporter to make sure he got no pictures of her in such a state.

"It's not like that!" Sting and Rogue yelled at the reporter, their bodies now outlined with light and shadows, respectively.

Jason, instead of being scared, yelled, "COOL COOL COOL COOL COOOOOL!" as he wrote down the answer. He was definitely going to turn that around to make it seem like there really _is_ a love triangle between them. Sting and Rogue sighed at this, knowing it wasn't true. Rogue saw Wendy as a sister, and Sting saw her as, well, someone he could trust with anything and never be let down by.

"What's with society these days? Always about love..." Sting grumbled to himself, rolling his eyes at the reporter for probably the 100th time today.

Jason, moving on from the topic, then turned to Yukino, "Yukino-sama, any new keys you acquired over the past year?"

Yukino nodded, but refused to reveal which ones they were. "Sorry, Jason-sama, it's a surprise for the tournament."

"That's okay. I'm sure they're really COOOOOL!"

"Please don't '-sama' that guy ever again," Rogue whispered to Yukino, who gave literally _everyone_ that title.

Jason then continued his questions for the next 5 minutes before leaving. Orga wasn't asked any questions, much to his displeasure.

"Oi, I'm Sabertooth's strongest mage! You have no questions for me?!" he yelled, but was ignored. Orga then crossed his arms, pouting. "I sat through this torture and the least he could do was ask me how my day was going…" The rest of his team only laughed at the poor guy. He started giving himself the title of 'strongest mage' when he was promoted to S-Class, but everyone knew that Minerva was the ace of the guild. Orga's in a not-so-close second, followed by the Triple Dragons (who refuse to try and see who the strongest out of the three is, but the rest of the guild is convinced that it's Wendy).

* * *

The team then went out to eat lunch at a restaurant where all of the other guilds were eating. Wendy looked around the room to find Fairy Tail's team. She spotted Natsu, Erza, Lucy, Gray, and Gajeel eating together. _'No Laxus-san...or Gildarts...or even Mira-san. Just one S-Class mage?'_

The second Wendy spotted them, they spotted her. The two teams gave each other intense stares.

"I don't like those two boys with Wendy…" Gajeel muttered to Natsu, who nodded as he downed his fifth bowl of noodles.

"Those are the Dragon Slayers I was talking about."

Gajeel looked at Rogue, his face familiar to him. He felt as if he had seen the guy many years ago. The Iron Dragon Slayer searched his memories, but he couldn't place a name to that face. "Who's the guy with the ponytail?" Gajeel asked about Rogue, who had put his hair up that day instead of keeping it in its usual down position.

"The Shadow Knight, Rogue Cheney," Natsu answered.

 _'Doesn't ring a bell'_ Gajeel thought to himself.

Team Sabertooth approached Team Fairy Tail, led by Sting. The Fairy Tail group immediately stood up, Gajeel and Natsu grinning evilly. As a result, Sting and Rogue immediately got into a fighting stance. The entire restaurant fell silent, knowing what was likely about to happen.

Wendy worriedly stepped in front of her two best friends, giving them a warning look. They immediately backed down at the sight of her eyes.

"I'm sure you've anxiously waited these last three months. Just save it for the Games," Wendy glared at Sting and Rogue. She then turned to face her old team. They had the same look on their face as always. They were determined. They were ready to fight. They were ready to fight for her back, weren't they? "There's no need to make this any more personal than this needs to be."

"Sumimasen, Wendy," Erza spoke up, "This is not anywhere close to being about fighting for your return to Fairy Tail. You've made it clear that you're happy in Sabertooth."

"This is for the sake of bringing Fairy Tail its glory back," Lucy stepped up, " Fairy Tail must be number 1 again."

"And everyone who stands in our way," Gray said, "will be taken down."

Wendy gasped at their words. They accepted her as a member of Sabertooth. They weren't fighting for her. If they were, they'd be fighting a lost battle. Even though it's apparent that they don't like Sabertooth, fighting for Wendy back would be so...wrong. Something that the people she met 7 years ago would never do. They're welcoming, but they're not possessive. The fight before was just in the heat of the moment. Learning that they lost 7 years of their lives probably had made them angry at the fact that they left everyone behind.

But that doesn't matter. They were fighting for Fairy Tail now. Wendy then slowly nodded at the group. "Understood. But let's save this rivalry for the cameras. I'm sure they'd love to eat this up."

Natsu nodded at the girl, the two sharing their own intense stare, as if examining each other's souls. Wendy could see absolute determination in Natsu's eyes while Natsu saw the same 12 year-old girl in Wendy's eyes. Natsu wondered how strong she really got. If she was as strong as Sting and Rogue, it'll be very fun to fight her. Besides, Natsu wants to keep his unintentional tradition of fighting every Dragon Slayer he knew. Fighting them is just more exciting than fighting anyone else. The stare went on for a few long seconds before Wendy turned away.

Team Sabertooth then went to their own table to eat, leaving Fairy Tail alone for now. The rest of the room returned to eating, acting as if nothing just happened. "Are you okay, Wendy?" Yukino asked the semi-upset girl.

"I will be," she nodded, "I'm just glad they haven't changed over the course of 7 years." Wendy paused, "Or maybe I shouldn't be. If they are still the same people, then we need to work extra hard if we want to maintain our title."

The rest of her team drank to that, knowing that this year would likely be the hardest one yet.

* * *

That night, at midnight, the five, along with the 3 Exceeds, returned to their rooms at the inn. As they prepared to go to sleep, a projection of the game's referee, Mato, appeared outside of everyone's windows. The 5 Sabertooth teammates all went straight to the balcony to check out what was going on.

"Welcome to the 7th annual Grand Magic Games!" Mato greeted. "As a result of the increasing amount of guilds participating, we've decided to make this year more interesting-kabo!"

"I don't like where this is going…" Wendy admitted. Suddenly, the balcony began to rise off of the ground, causing the 3 Dragon Slayers to fall to the ground, sick to their stomachs from the movement. Yukino and Orga sweatdropped at the rather pathetic sight.

"All these years of training and you guys still can't handle a little motion," Orga shook his head in disapproval.

"Shut...up..." Sting said between breaths.

"This is the first ever elimination round! We're going to cut down the number of teams from over 100 to just 6 with a simple race! The first 6 teams to have all 5 members make it to the arena get to participate in the tournament-kabo!" Mato announced. The balcony stopped moving and the Triple Dragons got up from the ground. A path appeared in front of the balcony, leading to a large labyrinth in the sky.

"An elimination round, eh?" Orga got excited, black lightning appearing around him as his energy charged up.

"Only 6 teams make it," Sting smirked, "Let's get there first."

"Let the preliminary round, Sky Labyrinth, begin!" Mato instructed.

With that, the 5 of them all ran up the path. Wendy enchanted everyone's speed, making them the fastest of the teams. When they got inside, it was a three-dimensional maze in the labyrinth. However, with Wendy's heightened senses in the sky, the team easily found where they needed to go. They encountered no other teams, being far ahead of all of them. They may be tigers, but they were cheetahs compared to the speed of the other teams. They were hardly breaking a sweat. When they reached the center of the maze, the maze had shifted positions. It rotated a few degrees, but thankfully motion sickness was taken away through enchantments to make the race more fair. After a quick jog, the five had reached the end of it. Mato was already expecting them.

"Of course, you guys are here in less than 10 minutes-kabo," Mato greeted the 5, slightly disappointed that they were still dominating. Hopefully this year would be more interesting than the rest.

"You gotta make these things more challenging," Sting brushed off.

"Noted…kabo..." Mato muttered before letting the team into the arena. There, they got their team uniforms and proceeded to go back to the inn to get their sleep for the night.

"There better be another battle round this year," Orga spoke up to his teammates, "That was our best win yet." he smiled, remembering the tournament from just 2 years ago.

"With Fairy Tail back, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a battle everyday," Rogue pointed out.

"Let's hope we go against Natsu-san and Gajeel-san," Sting gave the Shadow Dragon a smirk.

"I want to see what Lucy-sama can do with her spirits," Yukino declared. If she got a closer look at Lucy's skill...maybe, just maybe, she'll be able to 'open the gate to changing the world'. Yukino read that somewhere on her travels, knowing it would happen when someone obtains all 12 zodiacs. Whether that be Lucy or Yukino, that's up for fate to decide. Either way, having all 12 zodiacs in one place will definitely be interesting. Jiemma will probably want Yukino to get Lucy's 10 gold keys, much to no one's surprise. He's wanted that from her since she joined the guild. Perhaps this is going to be her only chance to truly prove she is worthy of S-Class status, like the rest of her team. Many were wondering why Yukino was chosen over Rufus to participate in the Games. After all, Rufus is an S-Class mage and Jiemma trains the teen more than anyone else. According to many rumors Yukino's heard around the guild, Minerva convinced Jiemma to let Yukino participate over Rufus. Minerva and Yukino did get along pretty well, so that seemed reasonable enough.

"Laxus better participate for at least one day," the Lightning God Slayer announced, "I want to see the look on his face when he feels my black lightning."

Wendy looked out at the sky, feeling everyone still fighting in the labyrinth. She remembered what her former comrades told her a few hours ago.

" _Everyone who stands in our way will be taken down."_ Wendy clenched her fists, her fighting spirit igniting. 7 years ago, Wendy would refuse to fight anyone in Fairy Tail. They were all her comrades. But 7 years changes everything. Wendy learned how to fight, and she's ready to show the Tenrou group how much stronger she's gotten. They'll always be her friends, but Wendy is fighting for Sabertooth, not Fairy Tail. Sabertooth is so different when compared to Fairy Tail. It was more serious, more intimidating, and more prepared for the week about to come. Sabertooth is everything Fairy Tail isn't. And yet, Wendy loved it there. Many would least expect the Sky Dragon Slayer to end up in such a guild, but it happened. And thankfully everyone has accepted that.

Wendy is a tiger now, not a fairy.

"Bring it on, Fairy Tail."

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Blame school...**

 **Thanks for reading! Like I said, a very quick elimination round. Nothing exciting happening there. Just imagine Sabertooth kicking ass by running at the superhuman speed Wendy gave them.**

 **Day 1 may or may not be one chapter. I will change a few things, but the concept is pretty much the same.**

 **I have been contemplating for a long time whether or not I want to make a sequel, which would delay my other story in development (the one I have a poll on currently).**

 **I'm also contemplating if Rogue will get a love interest. It'll likely be Yukino, but it won't be as developed as StingWen (I have officially declared that the ship name unless someone else had a better one haha).**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters.**


	11. Grand Magic Games: Day 1

**A/N: Before I start the chapter, I just wanted to thank all of you who are reading this story! I'm glad you all enjoy it enough to keep reading it. I have begun to plan out a sequel, but that won't be happening anytime soon (thanks to Mashima-sensei making this arc so long...not that I'm complaining). I still am unsure about it, so tell me if you guys want one!**

 **Reviewer Firebender1217 (I'm assuming you put a typo in your name on your latest review. If not then it was Firebender2117) brought up a good point. The Games were set up so that each team would go against a different guild everyday. A Sabertooth vs Fairy Tail matchup is already reserved for the Triple Dragons vs Fairy Tail's Dragon Slayers. Sorry for those who wanted other matchups between the two guilds. I just think it is only right to have only one Sabertooth vs Fairy Tail matchup. That way, Sabertooth can fight different guilds each day. Hope you guys understand.**

* * *

"That is how the Games will end this year?" a woman's voice asked in a rather dark room, talking to another person in the shadows. The male figure she spoke to nodded.

"Yes. By July 7th, my credibility will be proven."

"That's a bold prediction," the woman, who donned jade green hair, pointed out.

"I understand your concern," the man admitted, "But if you hesitate, the world will be destroyed by the end of this week. With my plan, there truly is nothing else to lose."

* * *

The morning sun shined through the window, hitting Wendy's sleeping face. Wendy immediately woke up to it and, after a few seconds of groaning, ultimately decided to get up despite how comfy the bed was. She put on her usual leather jacket and pants and put her hair into its usual ponytail. Wendy then exited her room, making sure not to wake Carla, and headed towards the nearest diner to grab breakfast.

"Good morning," Sting's voice called out from behind the girl as she exited the inn. Wendy stopped and waited for Sting to catch up to her, greeting the boy as well. "Get a good sleep in?" he asked. The girl nodded and the two began to discuss various things on the way to the diner.

"Do you think Fairy Tail made it?" Sting asked, referring to the elimination round that took place the night before.

"I know they did," she declared.

"They haven't gotten stronger in 7 years, yet I still feel pretty threatened by them."

Wendy chuckled, grabbing the bagel and coffee that she ordered. "You should be. Their fighting spirit is-"

"If it's anywhere close to where yours is, then I'm most definitely concerned," he cut her off, grabbing the pancakes he asked for from the counter. Though Sting was the team leader, Wendy was the most determined out of everyone in the guild. She never steps down from fights, even if it means her own life will end. She definitely didn't learn that from Sabertooth. Dying in Sabertooth is weak. Dominance is the only option. However, even though no one admitted it, Wendy's determination is what actually carries the group to victory every year. They have dominated the last few years, but Wendy was the one who made everyone give it their all. She usually gave the best pep talks before the final day.

Sting and Wendy sat down at a table, their breakfast in hand. "What time is the opening ceremony?" Wendy asked as she took a bite out of her bagel.

"It starts at noon, so we have to be at the arena by 11 to speak with the judges on the rules of the tournament and get into our team uniforms." Sting devoured the first two of his stack of 4 pancakes, making Wendy sweatdrop at the sight. She never got why Dragon Slayers had big appetites, well, all except her.

Wendy looked at the clock. It was 7, so she and Sting decided to spend the first part of their day walking around town. Despite the many journalists asking questions to the 2, the morning was pretty peaceful. They got to see the gardens outside the palace, a tradition the two had every year now. Wendy's fascination with the place was unlike anyone else Sting had talked to. Even Carla was getting sick of the area, but Sting always stayed with her.

When they got back to the inn, it was 9. The two decided to shower and get ready for the day ahead of them. The rest of the guild was already awake and the rest of the team was almost ready to head to the arena. After many 'Good Luck's from the guild, the 5 and the 3 Exceeds headed to the arena to prepare for the opening ceremony.

After the unfortunately long list of rules were read to them, team Sabertooth got the list of guilds participating in the tournament. The standings, from 1st to last in the preliminaries, went: Sabertooth, Lamia Scale, Mermaid Heel, Blue Pegasus, Quatro Cerberus, and Fairy Tail.

"The fairies got last," Orga smirked.

"Don't think that's a good thing," Wendy told the Lightning God Slayer, "Being in last just fuels their fire even more now. They love a good comeback. And being 6th out of over 100 guilds isn't that bad."

"Whose team are you on?" Orga playfully asked her, not-so-subtly telling her that she was giving her former guild way too much praise. Wendy nervously laughed at that, taking the hint.

"Gomen."

The team then put on their team uniform. It was just a recolored version of their usual clothes, now black with gold accents. The only exception was Orga, who was forced to wear a vest so that the Sabertooth mark was placed on the back of everyone's outfits.

"Y'all ready?" Orga was practically jumping in excitement.

"Let's make this more exciting than the other years combined," Sting smirked, "Let's make this year _unforgettable_."

"I second that," Rogue gave a soft smile. Wendy, too, nodded in agreement. Yukino and Orga then joined the group in nodding with Sting's declaration.

* * *

"LADIES AND GENTLEMAN!" a voice boomed out from the arena. Cheers exploded from the crowd as they prepared to find out which guild made it to the tournament.

After reading the opening statements, the announcer read off of the list of guilds.

"The strongest guild from 7 years ago! With the return of its core members, can the fairies make the comeback of the century?! Ladies and gentlemen, FAIRY TAIL!" The crowd immediately erupted in boos when Fairy Tail went out on stage.

"Coming in 5th place, the manliest of guilds! With spirits as wild as their attacks, QUATRO CERBERUS!" At this, the booing stopped and shifted to cheers.

"In 4th, with looks that could actually kill, the team that won the first ever Grand Magic Games! Can the guild finally regain the throne? BLUE PEGASUS!" Cheers only got louder as the fabulous guild made its way to the center of the arena.

"3rd place, the guild made of all ladies! Led by one of Fiore's best swordsman, MERMAID HEEL!" The ladies walked out, seriousness all over their faces.

"Taking 2nd place, no surprise here! Now with a Ten Wizard Saint on their team, are they finally ready to become the strongest? LAMIA SCALE!" The entire crowd stood up. It was obvious that they loved the guild, but no volume came close to what was about to happen. The entire crowd silenced in hopes of hearing the first place team.

"And, in first place!" the announcer yelled. The crowd was already cheering as Sabertooth made its way to the outside. Wendy grabbed the team flag, enthusiastically waving it as they made their way into the tunnel.

"You know who they are! You love them, you fear them! The strongest guild in all of Fiore! Led by the Triple Dragons, SABERTOOTH!"

With Sting leading the way, the 5 members ran into the arena. Cheers got even louder from the crowd as they chanted the guild's name over and over. The team waved at the crowd, smiling as their dominant presence took over the entire arena. The entire crowd waved their own Sabertooth flags in the air.

After a few good minutes of cheering, Mato forced the crowd quiet when he grabbed the microphone.

"Congrats to all the teams who made it! Now, allow me to explain the rules-kabo," Mato told the entire arena. A scoreboard appeared in the middle of the arena, showing the 6 guilds all having 0 points. "Everyday, there will be an event in which one member from each team will participate. The first place team gets a total of 10 points from that event, the second place gets 8, third gets 6, fourth gets 4 points, fifth gets 2, and sixth gets 0-kabo." All guilds nodded in agreement to the rules. "Then, the fans will vote for the second part of the day, where one member from each team will be chosen to battle against someone from another team-kabo." Everyone grinned at the sound of a battle, especially Fairy Tail. "The winner gets 10 pts, the loser gets 0, and each team gets 5 points if it's a draw. On day 4, there will be a team battle, where 3 members of each team are chosen to battle instead of 1-kabo." The crowd all "Ooh"ed at the sound of this. "And, to make this more interesting, after day 3, the bottom two teams will be eliminated from the tournament-kabo!"

This announcement shocked the entire crowd, along with the guilds participating.

"They really want to narrow the competition down…" Rogue mumbled to himself.

"We got nothing to worry about," Sting cocked a smile.

"Now, let's begin with the first event-kabo! It's called Save the Citizen!"

Without telling them the rules, each team selected one member from their group. Lamia Scale chose Lyon, Mermaid Heel chose Risley, Quatro Cerberus chose Warcry, Blue Pegasus chose Hibiki, Fairy Tail chose Gray, and Sabertooth chose Rogue.

"The rules are simple. Each team will get a turn at saving a citizen hidden somewhere in the city. However, there are 'fake' citizens spread out across the city. Encounter the fake one and 2 minutes will be added to your final time. The one to save the real citizen the quickest gets first place-kabo!"

First up went Gray due to Fairy Tail barely making it through the preliminaries. Gray walked through the entire city, which was generated by vision lacrima in the arena. Gray searched the entire city, not even finding a fake citizen for a good 5 minutes. However, Gray eventually found a citizen at the edge of the city, but the citizen was a fake one, disappearing the second Gray touched them. Two minutes were added onto his time.  
"This is really boring," Gray rolled his eyes as he continued to walk through the city. What was the point of this competition? Gray couldn't use any magic, he couldn't battle any enemies, and he couldn't even make himself faster. The ice mage grunted in frustration as he walked into yet another empty building.

Gray spent 5 more minutes trying to find the real citizen, eventually finding them hidden in a building across from where he started.

When he finished, the crowd booed him. "WEAK!" many yelled, but Gray defended himself, saying that it's harder than it looks.

Next was Warcry, who just cried the second he got into the fake city. Everyone sweatdropped, but the tears Warcry gave off were actually enhancing his sense of smell. Warcry found the girl in 5 minutes, making Gray go pale in embarrassment.

Hibiki went up, immediately bringing up his Archive. He researched the entire arena and found the best hiding places in the town, which was modeled after Crocus itself. Hibiki searched every single one of the best hiding places and found the citizen in a mere 7 minutes.

Risley went up next, using her Gravity Change to run on the walls of buildings to easily look through windows. Luckily, for her, the real citizen wasn't that far away. Risley finished within 6 minutes.

Next was Lyon, who simply said "Ice-make: Eagle!" and sent the many eagles searching the city. Lyon was led to the citizen in an astonishing 4 minutes. Gray rolled his eyes and silently pouted at the sight of Lyon's obvious improvement over the last 7 years. Lyon was now able to give his ice creatures a sense of smell, giving him an advantage over any opponent who wanted to hide.

Rogue, however, was the one who impressed the entire crowd. Rogue turned into a shadow and, after observing that the fake citizens give off no shadow, found the real citizen in 1 minute. He didn't even need to use his enhanced dragon nose. The entire crowd cheered for him as Rogue just gave off a soft smile, a smile that melted the hearts of all of the teenage girls in the crowd.

 **Current standings:**

 **Sabertooth: 10 pts**

 **Lamia Scale: 8 pts**

 **Quatro Cerberus: 6 pts**

 **Mermaid Heel: 4 pts**

 **Blue Pegasus: 2 pts**

 **Fairy Tail: 0 pts**

"With the event over, the fan votes have been counted! The first match is: Sabertooth's Orga vs Quatro Cerberus's Warcry!"

Well, the battle lasted a mere 2 seconds. Orga hit the poor guy with a single strike of black lightning and Warcry was immediately taken out. **Sabertooth +10**.

The crowd watched in awe. "That's what you get for going against Sabertooth's strongest mage!" Orga shouted his self-proclaimed title.

"Black lightning?" Laxus observed, "Is he…"

"Yes," Makarov answered without even needing Laxus to finish his question, "But Natsu was able to defeat someone like him back on Tenroujima. Don't worry too much about him."

"You couldn't have made that any more interesting?" Sting shouted at Orga from the balcony.

"Want me to sing?" Orga offered, a big smile on his face.

"PLEASE NO!" The rest of his team shouted.

* * *

"Now for the next matchup! A battle of ice! Fairy Tail's Gray vs. Lamia Scale's Lyon!"

"Again?" Gray asked, referencing to the lengthy battle he had with Lyon that, to him, was only a few months ago. Lyon smirked as the two met at the center of the arena.

"Perhaps we should make a bet," Lyon told his old friend and fellow student of Ur.

"What do you have in mind?"

"If I win, Juvia joins Lamia Scale!" Lyon declared, looking right at the girl who captured his heart the second he met her. Juvia blushed and hid from the crowd as all of Fairy Tail gave out an "EH?!"

"And if I win?" Gray inquired, seemingly unaffected by the bet Lyon proposed.

"I will return Juvia back to your guild!" Lyon proposed.

"What!? She's still in it! She never left!" Gray exclaimed out of annoyance. "That's not fair!"

"You beat me once, Gray," Lyon ignored the fuming boy, "Now, I will show you how much training 7 years has done to me!" Lyon declared, his palms glowing as he got into his fighting stance. "Ice-make: Tiger!"

"Ice-make: Lance!" Gray countered, hitting the tiger with the ice lances falling from the sky. The two creations out of ice shattered at the impact.

"Ice-make: Snow Dragon!" Lyon yelled as a giant dragon appeared at his side. The dragon flew into the air, amazing the entire crowd.

"Ice-make: Cold Excalibur!" Gray made the huge sword in his hands and slashed the dragon until it was broken. However, the dragon managed to hit Gray once before going down. But Gray refused to go down. Gray froze his wound to stop the bleeding and carried on with the battle.

"Gray…" Wendy whispered worriedly, seeing the ice on the wound quickly turn into a dark red color.

"Ice-make: Super Freeze Arrow!" Gray yelled, giving himself a bow and arrow. Gray then shot the glowing arrow at Lyon, but Lyon blocked it with an ice shield.

The entire arena was now covered in ice. People were beginning to feel the cold, but enjoyed the battle nonetheless. Workers in the arena were selling jackets to people, each one of them holding a different guild's insignia. The ones with Lamia Scale and Sabertooth were quickly sold out, and the Fairy Tail ones were untouched.

The crown watched as Lyon's greenish blue ice clashed with the pureness of Gray's blue ice. Attacks were thrown constantly, cheers getting louder as the attacks got bigger.

"This Fairy Tail guy is pretty impressive!" A man in the crowd admitted, taking out his money to buy one of the Fairy Tail jackets.

Lyon stood up from the ground, slamming his fist to his palm and gathering the majority of the magic left in him. "Sorry if this hurts you in a bad spot, Gray. Ice-make:" Lyon chanted as he released the magic, smirking at his former comrade. "Deliora."

Gray's eyes widened as Lyon created an exact ice replica of the demon that has haunted Gray's past. The entire arena let out a gasp at the giant demon that appeared next to Lyon.

"D-Deliora…" Gray said out of both shock and fear. The demon that killed his parents. The demon that killed Ur. "No..."

"Deliora, attack!" Lyon instructed. The ice demon let out a roar, one that gave Gray more flashbacks, as it lifted its arms up and prepared to pound the ground near Gray.

"H-how?!" Gray asked as he dodged Deliora's attack that created a huge crater in the ground.

"I told you, Gray," Lyon said, "7 years of training has gotten me stronger!"

Gray stared at the replica of the demon that forever ruined his childhood. "Deliora!" he shouted out in anger. "Ice-make: Cannon!" Gray yelled and created an ice cannon and shot ice cannonballs at the demon.

"Forget it, Gray! Give up, already! Neither of us could defeat Deliora!" Lyon yelled out. Gray gritted his teeth out of anger.

"Why would you even want to recreate such a monster?!"

"If you can't beat it, create your own to rival its power! Right, Gray?"

"Bastard…"

"Deliora, finish him!"

"No matter what you create, I still have enough magic to defeat you!" Gray yelled.

"As do I!" Lyon yelled out, sending Deliora for another attack.

"Ice-make: Requip!" Gray yelled, making up a name for his new move. Erza and the rest of Fairy Tail all watched in shock as Gray created replicas of Erza's most powerful swords.

"H-he memorized all of my swords?" Erza asked in shock, observing how every sword Gray created had the tiniest details of her swords replicated onto it. "And that speed...he's creating these swords near effortlessly!"

"That's pretty badass," Gajeel admitted.

"Though the swords don't have the same effect as Erza's," Lucy observed how the swords did not have any special effects.

"How could he have that much power left?" Orga asked, looking at Wendy.

"Second Origin?" she asked herself. Jellal probably helped them train, knowing his connections to Fairy Tail, and Erza, especially. "Could they actually be able to beat us now?"

"Don't say that," Sting told her, "Master may hear you." Wendy nodded, covering her mouth before going back to watching the match.

"Gray-sama watches Erza-san that much?" Juvia whispered before shooting a glare to Titania. "Love rival…?" She asked, but then quickly brushed off that title for Erza. Erza obviously liked that Jellal guy.

Gray sent all of the swords into Deliora's body, making the demon begin to crumble. Lyon only stared in disbelief. "...Sugoi…"

"I may not have trained for the last 7 years," Gray shot Lyon a dirty look, "But I have gotten stronger, too! Through the bonds I have in this guild, I don't need to train to get stronger! I'll always have the power of my friends!"

Wendy smiled at Gray's statement. Typical Fairy Tail, always about comrades and bonds. Sabertooth was sort of like that, but it wasn't the same. The bonds were only apparent in the team of the Triple Dragons and Yukino. Fairy Tail's specialty was the bonds it creates and how those bonds made everyone stronger.

Lyon, almost out of magical power, created one last item out of ice. "Ice-make: Sword!"

"Ice-make: Battle Axe!" Gray yelled as he and Lyon got into a battle of blades. Both were tired and exhausted from their battle, but they kept fighting. Neither one could hit the other and the second either one of them hit each other, they would probably go down right away. The ice in Gray's stomach wound from the dragon was starting to crack, blood slowly leaking out and trickling down his abdomen.

A bell rang from the announcer's box as the referee waved his hand to stop the match.

"It's a draw!" Mato yelled, getting between the two ice mages so they would stop fighting. **Lamia Scale +5, Fairy Tail +5**

"Guess neither of us gets what we want from that bet…" Lyon said before collapsing.

"I never would have gotten anything!" Gray yelled before joining Lyon as he collapsed. Sherria, the Sky God Slayer and Lyon's current admirer, immediately went to heal Lyon. Wendy was about to go and heal Gray, but Jiemma told her to stop by giving her a single look. Wendy frowned and stayed put, having no choice. Natsu and Erza noticed this and gave Jiemma a threatening look before hopping to the arena to help Gray.

"With those injuries, he may be down for the rest of the tournament…" Wendy whispered. ' _If someone would help him…'_

"Good," Orga laughed, "They should be putting Laxus in then."

"Or Gildarts," Rogue thoughtlessly commented. Orga and Yukino shivered at the mention of the ace of Fairy Tail. The very man who should already be a Ten Wizard Saint.

The Triple Dragons stood in silence as they waited for the next battle to start. Sting grabbed Wendy's hand and gave her a sympathetic look. "He'll be fine."

"I know. I just wanted to help…"

* * *

After Day 1 was finished, the standings were:

 **Sabertooth: 20 pts**

 **Mermaid Heel: 14 pts**

 **Lamia Scale: 13 pts**

 **Quatro Cerberus: 6 pts**

 **Fairy Tail: 5 pts**

 **Blue Pegasus: 2 pts**

Mermaid Heel's Araña easily defeated Ichiya during their battle, giving Mermaid Heel second place over Lamia Scale. As for Gray and Lyon, both are heavily injured, but Lyon's emergency treatment from Sherria helped his wounds immensely. Gray, on the other hand, is out for at least the next two days of the games from his wound he took from Lyon's snow dragon. However, he is lucky to even be able to move. Being out for only 2 days without even needing emergency treatment from a healer was the best scenario for Gray.

* * *

"Is it just me, or do these things get easier?" Sting asked his teammates as they walked into the inn and headed to their rooms. They just finished with their team dinner that occurs every night after the tournament's day ends.

"It was only day 1," Rogue told his fellow Dragon Slayer, "We all know how the difficulty spikes by the time days 3 and 4 roll around." Everyone agreed with Rogue, remembering the past few years of the Grand Magic Games. Though Rogue was right, Sabertooth won every single time.

Wendy and Carla went into their room, getting ready to go straight to sleep even though she did nothing today. Just watching that fight between Gray and Lyon was tiring.

"You wanted to help Gray," Carla said as she crawled onto the bed next to the half-asleep Dragon Slayer, "I could tell."

"Of course I did, Carla. But Master wouldn't have liked that. The last time someone tried helping another guild out, they were kicked out."

Carla frowned upon hearing this, "He really is pretty scary sometimes," she commented on Jiemma, "He seemed so nice when we met him."

"I know, Carla, but he's our master. He made us stronger. You can now control your visions and I have gotten much more powerful in both my attacks and my healing skills."

"You're right," Carla admitted, "Well, hopefully you get to see some action tomorrow. Goodnight, Wendy."

"Goodnight, Carla."

* * *

"I will start the preparations of the project," the jade-haired woman told the man in front of her. The man stepped into the light, revealing his entire body.

He donned high-collared black and white robes. His hair was white and up into a ponytail, save for a black portion that covered one of his eyes. He gave a grin, his eyes stone cold and his voice as emotionless.

"That's good to hear."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Yes, I decided to introduce Future Rogue right away, but he won't really get in the way of the tournament. I just addressed it because someone messaged me if I would do the Eclipse part of the arc...of course I will!**

 **I decided not to get into too much detail with the other battles because I personally found them boring in the arc itself. Sorry for those who liked those...I'll let you guys use your imagination as to what happened in the battle (Araña vs Ichiya).**

 **Also, Lyon and Gray are still friends after this battle! Both just fought their hardest for their guilds, so their friendship is still intact!**

 **Because I'm now on spring break, expect another upload in the next few days!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters**


	12. Omake: Seductive Wendy

**A/N: So the next chapter is taking longer to write than usual. To compensate, I have this omake I wrote when I was bored the other day. Nothing to take seriously here.**

* * *

The first day of the Grand Magic Games was over, with Sabertooth taking the early lead with 20 points. After the day, all participating teams were invited to a free dinner at the finest cuisine in all of Crocus, Casa Flora.

Team Sabertooth, all dressed in fancy clothing, ended up being the only ones to go to the restaurant. The rest of the teams were either too exhausted or too injured to attend.

Wendy fixed her black dress for the billionth time that night as she sat down between Sting and Rogue at the dinner table. The team of five plus the three Exceeds began to look through the menu.

"Everything here is just big words," Orga complained as he tried to imagine what the dishes looked like.

"It is the fanciest restaurant in the country, Orga-sama," Yukino brought up, but was ultimately ignored.

Wendy casually flipped through the menu, skimming over things without really thinking about it. Many of the options seemed so tasty, but were also so expensive. Though the meal was free, the money had to come out of someone's pocket, and Wendy would feel bad for letting them pay that much.

"Hello, welcome to Casa Flora," a male's voice sounded out from the edge of the table, "Can I start you guys off with something to drink?"

Wendy did not look up from her menu, staring at the drink options, "I'll just have water." The rest of the team ordered their drinks along with the three Exceeds who accompanied them.

"I'll be back in a few to catch your orders," the waiter told them, walking past Wendy as the girl looked up.

"That scent…" she whispered to herself as she smelled the waiter. Now that she thought about it, his voice was pretty familiar. Wendy immediately looked to where the waiter was, trying to get a good look at his face.

And she wished she hadn't. The girl immediately went red in embarrassment from seeing him, remembering why she had recognized him.

"Wendy? What's the matter?" Sting asked before looking to where she was looking. He saw the waiter, who he himself had not paid much attention to before, and burst out in laughter.

"Is that-"

"Shut up, please!" Wendy begged, covering his mouth. The rest of the team gave a confused look to the two, wanting answers now.

"We never told you guys, huh?" Sting pulled Wendy's hand away from his mouth and jogged his memories, remembering exactly what happened in X790, when the two were both 18 years old.

Wendy immediately cringed, banging her head on the table.

"Sting-kun," Lector stepped onto the table as he walked toward the two, "Are you talking about-"

"Stop it, I beg you!" Wendy interrupted.

"Wendy," Carla transformed in her human form and took the empty seat next to Yukino, "I think it's about time you tell them."

"Tell us what?!" Orga, Yukino, and Rogue all asked in wonder.

"It was a mission from a year ago. Good pay, and it was only me, Wendy, Carla, and Lector," he turned to Rogue and Yukino, "This was when you two were out for a week because you guys got that really bad flu from the mission in Bluebell."

"Don't remind us about that," images of themselves constantly puking came to the Shadow Dragon Slayer and Celestial Spirit mage's minds, making them feel sick again.

"What happened on that mission?" Orga asked.

"It was 18 year-old Wendy's first time seducing some men!" Sting practically shouted, making Wendy even redder as she slapped his arm for being too loud. Some heads turned from other tables, hearing Sting's comment.

"I need the full story," Rogue commanded. This was certainly pretty juicy, and using something to tease Wendy with will be very useful for him in the future.

"I promised not to tell anyone, but…" Sting turned to Wendy, who just nodded.

"They're not going to stop asking anyways so just tell it."

"Alright!"

* * *

"Wendy! Let's go on a mission!" Sting grabbed a request from the board and ran over to the girl.

"But I need to be here and heal Rogue and Yukino in case they get worse," Wendy responded

"Nah, it's just the flu! Nothing to worry about with them," Sting brushed off her excuse, "Now let's go! We haven't taken an S-Class mission in weeks!"

Wendy sighed, agreeing to the proposal Sting gave her.

* * *

On their Exceeds, Sting read the full request out loud.

"Please take down this mob boss who has begun to create his own dark wizard guild," Sting read the request out loud.

"So just catch the guy and knock him out?" Wendy asked as she read the request's fine print.

"Yeah. This'll be fun!"

* * *

"Those guys aren't going to move anytime soon," Wendy brought up, seeing the extra attentive guards outside the mob boss's headquarters for his new guild. The group was stationed in the forest behind the headquarters.

"This calls for drastic measures," Sting declared, lifting his fist. Wendy realized what he was going to do and quickly forced his fist down.

"We're not fighting them! They'll only call reinforcements!"

"Well what other choice do we have?" Sting asked. Wendy sighed and nodded and Sting smirked. He ignited his fist in white light, or rather, he tried to.

"Eh?" He gave a confused sound.

"Why isn't your magic working?" Wendy asked, "Now mine isn't working either!" She exclaimed as she tried to gather winds in her palm.

"Neither my transformation magic nor my Aera is working…" Carla announced.

"Ditto," Lector added.

"It's gotta be some kind of defense barrier or something," Sting suggested, studying the area around them.

"Now what?" Wendy asked as she looked to Sting, "We can't just go around them…"

Sting gave a rather mischievous look, his eyes giving off a scary sparkle, "I just got the perfect idea."

"Oh no…" Lector, Carla, and Wendy all said in unison.

* * *

"What are you doing walking around with THAT in your bag?!" Wendy loudly yelled out, pointing at what Sting was gleefully holding up in his hands.

In Sting's hands were the _skimpiest_ of skirts and the _tightest_ of tops. The black skirt and the gray button up crop top made Wendy immediately cover up her body at the thought of wearing that.

"Shh! The guards may hear you!" He ignored her question. Wendy let out a noise of confusion before remembering the mission they were on.

"Right…"

Sting's smile returned as he explained, "I've been keeping this because I knew一 _knew_ 一that this day would come!"

"Eh?"

"Wendy, you're gonna distract the guards with your sex appeal and then Lector and I will sneak into the building!"

"...EH?!" Wendy, fully red, shrieked at the plan, turning to Carla for help, "Carla, you can't possibly agree with this, right?!"

Carla shrugged, much to Wendy's horror, "Well, it isn't that bad of a plan. It worked a lot with Lucy-san and Erza-san."

"First off, Lucy-san usually failed at those plans. Second off, I AM NOT DOING THAT TO MY BODY!" Wendy screamed, making Sting have to cover her mouth.

"It'll work," Carla assured, "All men are animals. They'll fall for it."

"Oi!" Sting sweatdropped at the Exceed's comments about men.

"Don't tell me it's not true."

Sting let out a puff of air in surrender to the girl and took his hand off Wendy's face, "Just do it, please?"

Wendy huffed, "Fine." She aggressively snatched the (tiny) clothes from Sting's hand and began to walk farther into the forest to ensure Sting couldn't see her.

"Say, Sting-kun," Lector popped up as Carla and Wendy were out of sight, "Why did you think of buying Wendy such a getup?"

Sting immediately paled at that, "Eh...no reason…"

"Could it be that...you _wanted_ to see her in that…?" Lector smirked at his claim.

"Let's make sure the guards aren't coming over here," Sting muttered in embarrassment, trying to change the subject.

* * *

"Carla, I think it's too tight!" Wendy exclaimed as she desperately tried to get the top on her. Once it had gotten to her chest area, the fabric refused to stretch anymore to let her button the top.

"Then that's a good thing!" Carla told her, "You'll be showing enough skin to make those men faint!"

"This so isn't you…" Wendy whispered as she looked at the outfit she had on. She may as well be in her underwear because of all the skin that was showing. "...and this _so_ isn't me!"

"It's not about whether or not you're comfortable!" Carla lectured, "It's about making those men vulnerable!"

Wendy sighed in agreement as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail, swooping her bangs to the side so that they only covered part of her forehead instead of all of it.

"How do I look?" Wendy asked as she walked to Sting and Lector. Sting turned around, seeing the girl in front of him. She looked _good_. The outfit captured her curves perfectly and really, _really_ , emphasized her chest.

Sting internally cursed himself, feeling his face go warm as the wind blew by the group, causing her skirt to fly up a little, exposing her panties to the teen.

"Y-you look…" Sting stuttered, "You'll definitely distract them!"

"Thanks…I guess?" Wendy blushed as she patted her skirt down and brought the shirt up.

* * *

"That's so pathetic!" Rogue chuckled as the waiter, who seemed to have no clue what they were talking about, walked away to place their orders into the kitchen, "Poor Sting couldn't handle a little extra skin showing!"

"Oi, oi! We were 18!" Sting defended as he angrily sipped his water.

"How is that supposed to help your cause? That was a _year_ ago." Rogue pointed out, smirking.

"Urusai!" Sting yelled, telling his comrade to shut up. He was _this_ close to standing up and picking a fight with the guy, but Wendy thankfully placed her arm on his chest to stop him.

"Just get back to the story. _You're not the one who is supposed to be embarrassed about this…_ "

Sting nodded, preparing to continue his narration of the event.

* * *

"See those two guards over at the north entrance?" Sting asked as Wendy scoped the area.

"Yeah. I can hear their conversation from here."

"Well, they are the least armed, which means that there isn't anything important over there. That's the perfect entrance for us to take so that we can search for the reason that we have no magic."

"Those guys are really old…" Wendy shivered. The two men had to _at least_ be 30.

"Don't let them touch you," Carla instructed, "Just make them drool."

"Please...don't…" Wendy whispered, her suffering increasing with Carla's instructions. She was thinking of the most perverted things to happen to her, making her go pale.

"You have the looks, you just have to play the part!" The white Exceed told the girl.

"I really hate you for making me do this…" Wendy glared at Sting, who held his hands up in innocence.

"For the sake of the country, right?" He defended.

"You're _never_ going to speak of this day ever again," she threatened, turning to the two Exceeds accompanying them, "Any of you!"

"AYE!" They all practically saluted.

' _Reminds me of Erza-san…'_ Carla thought to herself.

' _Happy…'_ Wendy reminisced at the blue Exceed's famous line.

* * *

"Enjoy your meals!" The clueless waiter told the team before walking away to take care of his other tables.

"Wait so if he was a guard at the headquarters, why is he serving us food?" Yukino asked as she looked at the waiter, "And he seems pretty young."

Yukino observed the waiter's appearance. He looked to be in his mid-20's, and he was rather good looking. His hair was a sleek black and he was pretty muscular.

"We're getting there," Wendy and Sting said in unison.

* * *

Wendy was shaking really bad. She was sweating profusely and was red all over.

"Just do it," Carla, inside the girl's backpack, whispered to the girl.

Wendy slowly walked up to the men, who spotted her immediately. They immediately pointed their guns at her, but quickly put it down at the sight of her...appearance.

Wendy slowly leaned herself against the wall. She tipped herself forward to show off her chest.

"H-h-hey...boys…" Wendy tried her best to be seductive, but was way too awkward.

"What was that?!" Carla exclaimed, shocked at the girl's absolute failure to make herself sound flirtatious.

The two men just stared blankly at the girl.

"I w-was…" Wendy stuttered like there was no tomorrow, "I was look...looking t-to see...if y-you guys can...h-help me."

It was a painful sight to see. Sting and Lector were sweatdropping, Carla was facepaliming, and Wendy wanted to die already.

"Y-you've got to be kidding me…" Sting trailed off in disbelief. How could Wendy be _this_ bad? She's dated a couple of guys already, so did she have no grasp on flirting whatsoever?

Laughter filler Sting's system, but the boy decided to keep it in so that the guards couldn't detect him and Lector getting into the building.

* * *

"And while Lector and I found the source of the anti-magic barrier, Wendy had the job of continuing to distract the men." Sting seemingly finished the story. Wendy had bitter memories of the men just staring at her as she tried desperately to keep them occupied. She had tried different poses to compensate for her horrible acting, trying to get them to follow her away from the area. Instead, they had gotten annoyed and then realized that Wendy was just a distraction. However, the anti-magic barrier was already shut off by Sting and Wendy, using a simple Sky Dragon's Gale Force, easily knocked them out with a kick before they could warn anyone else.

"That's it?!" Orga, who was really into the story, asked in displeasure.

"Where does the waiter fit into this?" Yukino asked.

"Heh." Sting gave a look to Wendy, who slumped down. She placed her head on the table and sighed, telling the rest of the story.

* * *

Sting and Wendy easily took down the guards along with the mob boss. They turned them into the local police station before heading home.

Wendy was still in her not-so-innocent getup that Sting had purchased for her to use. The police did not say a word, but it was obvious that they were judging.

"Say, Wendy," Sting turned to her as they began to walk toward home, Sabertooth not being too far from where they were, "What happened out there?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about."

Wendy sweatdropped as she turned red again, "I told you guys that I didn't want to do that!"

"You've dated, what, 3 guys now? You didn't flirt with them?" Sting asked, giving a grin full of teasement.

"2 guys," she corrected, "And no, I did not try to _seduce_ my boyfriends. We had very personal relationships! I wasn't using my body to make them happy!"

"Maybe that's why they broke up with you," he mumbled without even thinking about the fact that all Dragon Slayers had enhanced hearing. This earned him a big slap to the face, which would probably leave a mark on his cheek for about a week.

"They both were _mutual_ breakups!"

"Baka," Carla rolled her eyes, "He doesn't even know anything about your past romances and he plans on using them against you."

"That's not the point," Wendy's eyebrow twitched, "And besides, I am not THAT bad at seducing people! I just got nervous!"

"That was your first time ever seducing someone. How do you know that you are better than that show you put on earlier?"

 _Boy_ was he pressing her buttons that day. Wendy, without thinking, looked around the street they were on. Her eyes fixated on an ice cream stand and the girl quickly fixed her shirt and skirt.

"Oi, what are you going to do?" Sting asked as he and the two Exceeds gave looks of confusion.

"I'm going to get us some free ice cream!" She declared. This was a totally new side of the girl. No one would have been able to recognize her without looking at her face. Carla tried hard to remember where she saw Wendy like this. Then it hit her.

She was channeling Lucy.

Carla, looking back to the previous events of the day, was sure of her conclusion. The little bantering between the two, the way they were acting, the tone of their voices. It all sounded so familiar. It was Natsu and Lucy, but in the bodies of Sting and Wendy.

But if Wendy was channeling her memories of how Lucy acted, then…

Oh dear god.

Wendy placed her arm onto the stand, looking at the guy in front of her. He had sleek black hair and was wearing a tight shirt that revealed the outline of his muscular arms.

"Hey~" she warmly spoke to the guy, who gave her a confused look. He looked to see her breasts basically placed onto the stand as she leaned over to get close to him. "It's really hot today, isn't it~?"

"Who is that?" Sting asked in the background, "And what are they doing in Wendy's body?"

"I have such a bad feeling about this," Carla whispered as she transformed into her human form to willingly see into the future so that she could know what was about to unfold.

"Can I help you?" The guy asked Wendy, who was certainly getting all up in his personal bubble.

"Ice cream sounds super good right now~"

"Well this is an ice cream stand," the guy said, "Are you going to order or…?"

"Well, you see," Wendy brought her face up so that it was inches away from the guy's face. Sting gulped at the sight, refusing to believe that actual jealousy was filling him. "I really, _really_ need something cold right now~"

"And…"

"And I heard that the mint chocolate ice cream here is _to die for_ ~" she said in her most seductive tone.

"S-so one scoop or two?" He asked, stuttering as the seduction was actually working.

"But I don't have money~"

The guy was, at first, quite turned on by this little act Wendy was putting up. However, the second that she mentioned not having money, the guy simply stepped away and looked to the person in line after Wendy, leaving the girl hanging.

Sting burst out into laughter once again, much to Wendy's dismay.

"It's 'cause you tried doing it Lucy-san's way," Carla told her, "You gotta be like Erza-san. More direct and affirmative."

"I am _not_ going to threaten someone's life for the sake of getting what I want."

"That's not what I meant," Carla sweatdropped.

"Let's go," was all the red Wendy said.

The group went home, swearing to never speak of this day ever again.

* * *

The entire table was laughing, well, all except Wendy. She was emitting red waves off of her in utter embarrassment.

"Aw, come on Wendy," Sting wrapped his arm around the suffering girl, "In the end, we all got a good laugh!"

"Heh. Yeah, I guess," Wendy agreed as she saw the waiter coming back to take their empty plates from the meal they had eaten. Wendy was sure that if he really did recognize her, he would have said something by now.

"Any room left for dessert?" The waiter, named Satoshi, asked the group.

"Do you guys have ice cream?" Sting asked nonchalantly, indirectly teasing Wendy. He gave out a huff when Wendy kicked his leg as a response to his question.

"Actually, we do," the waiter responded. He then shot a look to Wendy, smiling mischievously as Wendy realized that he actually did recognize her. "And the mint chocolate one is _to die for_."

And that is the story of how Wendy died.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it! Writing humor isn't really my strong suit...(yes this is supposed to be funny...yikes)**

 **I'm almost done with GMG Day 2, part 1 (it's split into two chapters). Stay tuned for that as well!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters.**


	13. Grand Magic Games: Day 2, Part 1

"Where are you going?" The jade-haired woman asked the man who she had been working with. He had suddenly stood up from his seat where they had been planning to watch the Games.

"If I remember right, today is going to be vital for our plan. I will handle it."

* * *

Gray, still stuck in the infirmary, woke up to the sounds of cheers in the arena. "It's started already?" he asked to himself. Gray then looked at the clock, which read noon.

"Gray-sama…" Juvia whispered next to the infirmary bed. Gray looked over and saw Juvia and Lucy standing by his bed.

"Lucy...don't you have a tournament to participate in?" Gray asked the girl, unintentionally ignoring Juvia. Juvia immediately began to fume in the background.

"Mira-san said she could step in for me. Laxus took your place, too." Lucy explained as she tried to avoid making eye contact with the obviously upset Juvia next to her.

"Love rival…"

"You don't need to watch over me. You too, Juvia." Gray told the two girls.

"Porlyusica asked me," Lucy shrugged.

"Juvia wanted to comfort Gray-sama…"

After a few moments of silence, Lucy mentioned something that got Gray's attention. "Erza and Natsu say that they saw Wendy try and help you, but Jiemma, Saber's master, stopped her."

"Saber's master...I've heard bad things about him," Gray remembered the rumors he heard around town the day before the Games started.

" _Sabertooth almost never smiles in his presence," one girl loudly spoke, turning to her friend._

" _I wouldn't be surprised. All of the other guilds aren't as serious as Sabertooth. That's probably what makes them win all the time," the other girl suggested as the two girls passed Gray by on his walk around town._

" _But the people in Sabertooth actually seem nice! I've met Wendy! She is so kind, but when the master's around, she rarely smiles or anything. Just keeps a straight face."_

" _Who knows what he does to them? Doesn't really matter. They're winning either way so it must be working."_

"He gives me the chills…" Lucy mumbled.

"Juvia gets a bad vibe from him, too."

"Whoever he is, he better not be hurting Wendy…" Gray thought out loud. The two girls agreed before Lucy she picked up her bag. The girl took out a small lacrima orb from her purse.

"It's really small, but I figured we might as well watch the Games from down here," Lucy said as she placed the lacrima on a stand, which was on the table next to Gray.

There, they saw the competition event of the day. At the sight of it, they all sweatdropped.

"Why is Natsu competing in this…" Gray whispered as he witnessed Natsu barely moving on a moving chain of chariots.

"He insisted last night…" Lucy sighed.

* * *

"So...wobbly…" Natsu said between huffs as he covered his mouth in order to stop himself from hurling all over the chariots.

"Baka…" Gajeel and Erza sighed at the pitiful sight.

"Do all Dragon Slayers have this?" Mira asked, looking at Laxus.

"Don't tell anyone," Laxus warned.

"I think it's obvious now," Erza brought up, "Why do you not have it, Gajeel?"

"Actually...I kinda got it...I started to feel sick on the train here, but I don't have it as bad as Salamander."

Rocker from Quatro Cerberus already finished the race in first, followed by Beth of Mermaid Heel. Toby from Lamia Scale was about to finish with Ichiya right behind him. All that was left was Natsu and Sting, who decided to participate at the sight of Natsu doing it.

"I guess all Dragon Slayers are like this…" Natsu mumbled to himself.

"You might even have it worse than Wendy...and she has it _bad_ ," Sting noted. Wendy blushed from embarrassment when Sting's microphone picked up what he just said.

"It's not that bad…" she whispered to herself, much to her teammates' amusement. For some reason, Wendy had the worst when it came to motion sickness. The slightest movement happening underneath her immediately rendered her incapable of doing anything. She couldn't move or do anything in her state.

"Don't be so hard on yourself about that," Rogue comforted. Wendy shrugged at that and went back to watching the competition. The two Dragon Slayers on the lacrima vision were still standing still, their sweat dripping profusely. They became a laughing stock for the crowd, much to the two guilds' dismay.

"Why are you even trying anymore?" Sting asked the Fire Dragon Slayer, sweating profusely as the motion sickness got worse.

"2 points is better than nothing…" Natsu commented, the suffering in his voice pretty obvious.

"Not this…" Sting said, falling to his knees, "The Games…" Natsu gave the guy a confused look. "Why are you even trying in the Games?" Sting clarified.

Natsu then clenched his fists as he got up onto his two feet again. "Fairy...Tail…" he whispered. The mic on the Fire Dragon Slayer began to project his voice across the arena as Natsu began to walk on the chariot.

"Yeah; Fairy Tail. The guild...that didn't give...a damn what others thought. That guild made me...want to become stronger. That guild made me love being a wizard. You guys didn't care if you were viewed as the strongest or the weakest. Now, you guys all show up after 7 years, wanting to be at the top again. That's not the Fairy Tail I idolized." Sting said as he had to continuously pause to catch his breath.

"We're not just doing it to be at the top..."

"Then why are you guys even here?"

"Minna...they waited for so long," Natsu said as he began to walk on the chariots, ignoring the pain it caused him. "Wendy, Carla, and all of the Fairy Tail guild. They all had thought that all hope was lost. That we were all gone."

Tears began to form under Wendy and Carla's eyes, remembering that day like it was just yesterday.

" _The island…" Mest, or really Doranbolt, looked down, "It was attacked by the Black Dragon in the Book of the Apocalypse."_

 _Wendy immediately walked to the front of the crowd. Just a few days ago, she said goodbye to her friends, wishing them all luck on the S-Class exam._

" _A-attacked?" she asked for confirmation. Doranbolt sadly nodded._

" _Wendy...words cannot describe how bad I feel-"_

" _They're not dead!" Wendy shouted, shocking the entire guild building. Carla whispered the girl's name in worry, but was ignored. "You aren't looking hard enough!"_

" _Wendy…" Doranbolt whispered, unable to find words._

" _Miss Marvell, we are doing everything in our power to find out what happened," a man, who Wendy recognized as Lahar, walked up to her as he comforted an obviously upset Doranbolt._

" _Why...why didn't you help them?" Wendy began to cry._

" _Acnologia, the Black Dragon, is too powerful. His strength rivals that of Zeref himself," Lahar explained. Wendy just fell to her knees as she cried even harder. She's felt this feeling too many times. The feeling of Grandeeney leaving. The feeling of Jellal/Mystogan leaving. The feeling of Cait Shelter leaving. And now the feeling of her newest, closest comrades most likely gone, too. Wendy just kneeled there, crying her heart out as Carla comforted her. The rest of the guild was crying, too, but not as hard as Wendy._

"7 years…" Natsu whispered, "We left them waiting." The boy then proceeded to name every single member who was left behind. Ending with Carla and Wendy. As he said their names, Natsu was only inches away from the end.

"This win isn't just for getting back to the top. It's for _them_." Natsu declared as he crossed the finish line. **Fairy tail +2**

Sting, shocked at the Fire Dragon Slayer's words, passed the finish line in last and jumped off. "Touching," was all he said before walking back to meet with his team. Wendy was now openly crying as Carla wiped away any tears that came to her eyes. The others in Fairy Tail were also crying, remembering how hard the last 7 years had been.

The crowd, who started off the Games by booing Fairy Tail, was now cheering. They chanted, "Fairy Tail! Fairy Tail!" over and over. Team Sabertooth, Sting now joining them, looked up at the scoreboard.

 **Mermaid Heel: 22 pts**

 **Sabertooth: 20 pts**

 **Lamia Scale: 19 pts**

 **Quatro Cerberus: 16 pts**

 **Fairy Tail: 7 pts**

 **Blue Pegasus: 6 pts**

Jiemma scowled at the score. Sting put up the most embarrassing act the man had seen in such a long time. He glared at his team, mainly looking at Sting. Such an act cannot be forgivable. He then looked next to the blonde teen and observed Wendy's tears. Jiemma got angrier, clenching his fist as he broke the arm of his chair.

* * *

"First match of the day!" the announcer yelled in the mic, "Mirajane Strauss of Fairy Tail vs Bacchus of Quatro Cerberus! 2 S-Class Mages!"

"Though, Mirajane has not shown her powers to the world in a while, even without counting the 7 years she was frozen in time." Yajima commented.

"Still, rumor has it she's still as strong!"

"Mirajane," Laxus spoke to her before she went off to start her battle. Mira turned around to face him and saw him flash an evil grin, "Remind everyone of the demon that scared our entire guild all those years ago."

Mira just gave him an innocent smile of assurance before she stepped onto the arena, looking Bacchus in the eye. She knows just how strong he is, hearing that he could probably fight Erza to a draw. Well, Mira's not Erza. Erza may be Titania, but she's a demon. Besides, while Erza would never admit this, Mira would mostly beat her whenever they fought as kids.

"We should make a bet," Bacchus, already drunk, suggested. Mira noticed this and knew that he was serious about this fight. The more drunk Bacchus gets, the quicker and more unpredictable his moves get.

"What do you have in mind?" Mira asked, her normally high-pitched voice now a few notches lower.

Bacchus chugged the rest of his drink and wiped his mouth before grinning, "If I win, you let me spend the night with you."

Mira's face became full of disgust at the sound of that, as did the rest of Fairy Tail's. But the girl decided not to go into full-fledged demon form just yet. She went along with Bacchus's suggestion of making a bet, a common trend in the Games this year. "And if I win," she thought for a second, "You don't drink another drop of alcohol for the rest of the Games."

Bacchus, Quatro Cerberus, and even Cana gasped at that. "So cruel…" Cana whispered, imagining her without alcohol for that long. All Cana could imagine was a grave, knowing she's dead without alcohol.

"You're on," Bacchus smirked as he lunged toward Mira, attacking her with his palms 7 times in less that a second. Mira, before she could even change into her demon form, flew back from the blow. The members of Quatro Cerberus all cheered.

"WILD..." Bacchus shouted out.

"...FOUR!" the rest of his team finished.

Mira only let out a slight din as her body began to glow white.

"Here it comes!" the Games' announcer yelled into his mic, "The Demon Mirajane!"

All of Team Fairy Tail, aside from Gajeel, smiled at the scene in front of them. Mira's body continued to glow as a magic circle appeared over her head. Once the glow and the magic circle disappeared, Mira revealed her transformation.

"Satan Soul: Sitri," Erza immediately recognized the familiar blue outfit Mira had on. "The most powerful, based on what I ever experienced."

"You've...experienced…?" Gajeel asked, terrified at the sight of Mira in such a powerful state.

"We never always got along," Erza commented nonchalantly.

* * *

Jiemma watched his team carefully, eyeing the looks on their faces as they watched the fight. Orga seemed bored out of his mind, Yukino was silently taking notes on every move the wizards made, Rogue was in the corner (most likely staring off into the distance), Sting was staring at Natsu and his team, and then there was Wendy.

Wendy was really pissing off Jiemma today. The tears she shed earlier are an embarrassment to the entire guild, but Jiemma let it slide. Now she's cheering for that demon in Fairy Tail. ' _I guess I could let that slide, too.'_ She was definitely one of the best wizards there. But it was obvious that Wendy still cared for the Fairies. Jiemma let out a small growl as his anger rose.

The fourth day was going to be a 3-on-3 battle. Fairy Tail vs Sabertooth is the most logical matchup to happen. After the ice mage's battle along with the Salamander's heartfelt speech, the crowds were split between the two teams now, only a handful actually rooting for the other guilds. Jiemma conducted a strategy for the rest of the tournament. Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus were too weak to make it to the fourth day. They'll be gone by the end of the third day, if not sooner should the referee pity them enough. Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel would battle for third place, Lamia Scale most likely winning thanks to Jura. With the 3-on-3 battles, Jiemma knew that both Fairy Tail and Sabertooth had 3 Dragon Slayers. Wendy, Sting, and Rogue vs Natsu, Laxus, and Gajeel.

Wendy vs her old guild. No way Wendy would not show mercy to them. Her power most likely exceeds those three, and she can probably be the only one to fight them. Jiemma turned her into one of the strongest wizards in Fiore (in his opinion, of course), teaching her spells that were created for God Slayers. He had taken actual time to translate the spells into Dragon Slayer spells, and Jiemma rarely invests time into training members of his guild. Wendy learned the translated spells with ease and is now able to increase the strength and endurance of her enchantments. Her healing is spectacular, too. She can probably heal an entire guild and still have energy to enter Dragon Force. If her and Minerva, the true ace of the guild, were to go all out, Wendy might be able to keep things even between the two for more than 10 minutes. Heck, even against Laxus, she will stand a chance. Laxus is 7 years behind in training, as is the rest of Team Fairy Tail. No way that wasn't going to give the Triple Dragons an advantage.

"Wendy," Jiemma said to himself, looking at the girl, "I gave you this power for a reason. Don't let me down."

* * *

"Victor: Mirajane!" the announcer screamed as Bacchus fell to the ground. **Fairy Tail +10**

The fight lasted about 10 minutes, Mira's Sitri form much faster than Bacchus's fastest attacks, despite how drunk he was. She only had to throw him into the air, but she wanted to make it last longer to entertain the crowds.

"Have fun being sober," Mira innocently smiled, back into her normal form. Fear washed over Bacchus's face as he watched Mira carry his container full of sake.

"I…" he began, but couldn't find the words to finish.

Mira went back with her team, all of them congratulating her.

"You're…" was all Gajeel could get out. It was obvious that he'd never look at her the same again. He'd seen her Satan Soul before, but _damn_ that Sitri form was dangerous.

"Don't worry Gajeel," Mira smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. Gajeel began to calm down until he looked up. Mira's grip tightened and her face had gone dark. "Just don't attack the guild and I won't have to use my magic on you, m'kay?"

Gajeel nervously nodded, nearly bowing down to her. Natsu couldn't help but laugh at Gajeel, which brought him an iron club to the face.

"Good job as always, Mirajane," Laxus smirked at the girl. Mira smiled back. Ever since Laxus got back, the two have gotten along much better than they used to. Mira used to despise Laxus with a passion from how he treated the guild. She thought she was finally free of him when he was expelled. Of course she felt bad, but Master Makarov made a convincing case. When Laxus was invited back by Gildarts, Mira braced herself for his return. But on his first day back, Laxus managed to apologize to everyone he hurt, including her. Since then, the two have been slowly becoming friends.

Team Fairy Tail turned to watch the next matchup. Jura of Lamia Scale vs Hibiki of Blue Pegasus. Hibiki sweatdropped.

"W...why did the fans vote on this?" he asked. Jura was the fifth strongest in Fiore, and Hibiki wasn't even an S-Class mage yet. Hibiki predicted his odds using Archive, which told him he had a 99.9999% chance of losing.

In which he did. His magic is mainly support, so he didn't have any attacks to use. Jura, showing mercy, hit him once before Hibiki was knocked out. **Lamia Scale +10**

"Well that was pathetic," one man in the crowd said, much to Blue Pegasus's horror.

"And finally, the last matchup of the day!" the announcer received the slip of paper from one of the game managers. "Sabertooth's Yukino vs Mermaid Heel's Kagura!"

"Me?" Yukino looked across the arena, eyeing her opponent. The strongest mage in Mermaid Heel, Kagura. The master swordswoman, the one who has no need to use her magic.

Yukino gulped as Kagura gave her the scariest glare.

Jiemma glared at the girl from his seat, letting out a small growl. He was hesitant to even let Yukino participate over Rufus, but Minerva kept insisting. Not like Yukino wasn't a good wizard, but her strength was levels below the rest of her team, at least in Jiemma's mind. Jiemma was convinced that Yukino was such a weak wizard, and this was her only chance of showing him that he was mistaken.

"You better win this."

* * *

At the top of the arena, the man that had the long, white hair with the portion of black that was situated on his bangs stood. He had covered his face with a scarf, as if trying to hide his identity to the people around him. He stared at the center of the arena, watching as Yukino and Kagura walked toward each other.

"Yukino…"

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I kept the competition portion the same for the sake of giving Natsu that speech. I'm probably going to keep Pandemonium the same too.**

 **I also kept Kagura vs Yukino, and the outcome will be almost the same. I don't want to reveal too much, but just know that Yukino's keys will get the opportunity to show their true power. Whether that may be in the next chapter or another battle, you'll have to see (wink).**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters.**


	14. Kagura vs Yukino

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! Writers' block and vacations get in the way...so I made this extra long to compensate!**

 **Announcement!** **I've gone and created a Tumblr! I will be posting drabbles there and stuff, as well as answering your guys' questions! Don't be afraid to give it a shot! Username: EternalDragonSlayer**

 **I've done something in this chapter that I know not all of you will like. It's not necessarily "essential" to the plot. I just don't want to follow canon too much.**

 **This chapter's dedicated to Mike Uzumaki-Heartfilia for giving some great advice! Thanks!**

* * *

"Okay, before the fight begins," the announcer began, "please take a look at the scoreboard."

 **Lamia Scale: 29 pts**

 **Mermaid Heel: 22 pts**

 **Sabertooth: 20 pts**

 **Fairy Tail: 17 pts**

 **Quatro Cerberus: 16 pts**

 **Blue Pegasus: 6 pts**

"We see the favorites Sabertooth in a surprising third place, behind a much improved Mermaid Heel and a 10 Wizard Saint-led Lamia Scale! Don't look down on Fairy Tail either!"

' _We need this win...'_ Yukino thought to herself as she walked onto the arena floor. Kagura met her on the other side, the woman's face very serious for this match.

"She's like Erza 2.0," Natsu, unfortunately, thought out loud. He received a big whack to the head by a hand covered in armor.

"I've heard many rumors about her," Erza stated, acting like nothing just happened, "She's undefeated in any battle."

"What kind of magic does that Yukino girl use?" Laxus asked, trying to remember seeing her participate in the games. She had not done anything yet this year, and no one in the guild was smart enough to watch tape of the previous tournaments.

"Not sure, but I sense a lot of magic from her."

"Same here."

* * *

Mato stood between the two girls, reading off the basic list of rules.

"Pleased to meet you," Yukino greeted, catching the woman off guard from her politeness.

"Uh...you too."

"Would you like to make a bet? Like the other battles?" Yukino asked the quiet woman, her head tilting as she observed Kagura's full appearance.

"I take these competitions very seriously," Kagura stated the obvious.

"Then perhaps we should make a serious bet," Yukino replied, her voice now as serious as Kagura's, colder than anyone in Sabertooth had ever heard.

Rogue looked up from this comment, snapping out of his daydream as he began to listen to the conversation more.

"The word 'serious' has an important meaning," Kagura told the girl, eyeing her, "So if we make a more 'serious' bet, we will wager our lives."

The crowd let out a gasp, shouting out different responses for Yukino. Many were saying no, but the Saber fans were all telling her to take it.

Yukino thought for a long 5 seconds before nodding her head. "Deal."

' _I can't look like I'm scared. Not after suggesting the idea of a serious bet. Especially not in front of Master.'_

"That's the Sabertooth spirit!" Sting yelled out, smiling at his brave comrade.

"Yukino…" Rogue whispered as he worriedly looked closer at the arena, the fight now catching his undivided attention. ' _Why are you acting this reckless?'_

"Is Yukino even capable of killing?" Wendy asked her teammates. They all shrugged. Despite her being here for 2 years, the other team members were a lot closer to each other than they were to her. The Triple Dragons were really the only people, other than Minerva, who associated themselves with her. And even then Yukino spent most of her time with Rogue and Frosch. She was quiet, not usually speaking unless spoken to when it came to other members of the guild.

"She'd never hurt a single fly…" Rogue mumbled quietly enough that not even the two Dragon Slayers by him could hear.

"She's crazy for taking that bet," Risley smirked along with her other Mermaid Heel comrades, "Kagura-chan does not know how to show mercy."

"She's not crazy," Araña told Risley, "She's just afraid to look like a coward in front of the arena."

* * *

"Open, Gate of the Paired Fish: Pisces," Yukino held up one of her two gold keys. 2 big fish appeared (much to Happy's delight) and flew around the arena before attempting to attack Kagura.

"A Celestial Spirit Mage!" Lucy noticed as she stared at the lacrima, sitting on the side of Gray's bed as Juvia sat on the chair next to them.

"She has one of the 12 gates!" Gray added, remembering how Lucy has 10 of them. The three sat and watched the battle continue.

Kagura was running from the two spirits, her face as straight as ever. She kept her calmness at a max as she jumped over and through obstacles in her way. She managed to jump over them and immediately darted towards Yukino.

"Open, Gate of the Heavenly Scales: Libra," Yukino held out the last of the 12 gold keys, much to Lucy's shock.

"The last of the 12 keys…" Lucy whispered.

"Libra, alter Kagura-sama's gravity," Yukino instructed. Libra nodded and made Kagura too heavy to jump, allowing Pisces a wide open shot at the girl. Yukino commanded the two fish to attack her with all of their might. However, as Pisces closed in on the girl, Kagura began to defy Libra's gravity change and jumped up into the air.

"She...broke out of my gravity…" Libra stood, dumbfounded. Kagura, at an inhumane speed, proceeded to slash both fish of Pisces and also Libra, all without unsheathing her sword. Pisces and Libra immediately went back to the Spirit World, too injured from the single strike.

Yukino gasped, as did the rest of her team.

' _Of course she uses gravity magic. No wonder why I was put up against her…'_ Yukino thought as she pulled out her set of keys.

"I see that you are out of luck," Yukino claims, "For we Sabertooth wizards never show our true power until it truly matters."

The crowd was now at the edge of their seats as Yukino took out a black key. Kagura, however, remained unintimidated.

"Behold, the power of the 13th gate," Yukino held the key up into the air, "Open, Gate of the Snake Charmer: Ophiuchus."

* * *

"13th gate?" Gray asked, looking at the shocked Lucy next to her.

"I've only heard rumors of a gate past the 12 zodiacs. I never thought that it'd be true…" Lucy trailed off, observing what was going on in the television screen.

"Ophiuchus," a voice said behind the group, sending shivers down their spines at the sudden intrusion.

"Loke! Don't scare me like that!" Lucy scorned as she jumped off of the bed.

"The 13th gate is very powerful," Loke ignored Lucy's complaint, "More powerful than any of the 12 gates."

"More powerful?" Gray repeated, looking at the lacrima vision as he saw the spirit come out.

"Ophiuchus is different from the gold keys. She is the Celestial Spirit King's second in command. He gave her the most powerful powers other than his own. I, however, have not seen the spirit in action. In all my years of living, Ophiuchus has never shown anyone what she is capable of."

* * *

"There it is! Yukino-sama's trump card!" the announcer yelled as everyone in the stands cheered at the top of their lungs. The entire arena was covered in a black cloud as the spirit went through the gate. All of Team Tenrou gasped at the sight, wondering what the spirit was.

A huge black snake appeared over Yukino. The snake stretched across the entire arena, its mouth wide open as if it were ready for prey.

"Ophiuchus. Attack."

Ophiuchus lunged at Kagura, who dodged right away. Kagura began to run up the snake's body, preparing to take another slash.

"She's good," Sting admitted about Kagura.

"But Yukino's better, right, Sting-kun?" Lector asked. Sting just smiled at his friend.

"She's in Sabertooth."

However, right when Sting said that, the spirit Ophiuchus suddenly disappeared.

"What?" Sting asked out of confusion. Everything in the middle of the arena was covered by dust, but Ophiuchus definitely was not there anymore.

"Yukino!" Rogue shouted, searching for the girl in the arena.

"Where is she?" Wendy thought out loud. As if on cue, the dust settled down. The entire crowd, along with the other guilds, stared in shock. Many let out gasps.

"Sometimes, mermaids eat tigers," Kagura nonchalantly told the Celestial mage, who was now laying on the floor of the arena. Kagura had slashed through Ophiuchus and hit Yukino, leaving the girl on the ground as if she were naught.

However, Yukino wasn't done there. With Second Origin on her side, the girl finally decided to release the hidden talent that Ultear had bestowed to her and the Triple Dragons.

"Another trump card?" Yajima asked as he and the other two announcers looked on.

"She took a heavy hit from Kagura, and her best spirits are knocked out. What else is there to do?" Chapati excitedly asked, hoping to get the answer soon.

"Second Origin, release!" Yukino chanted, her body shining as she released the container of magic.

"Second Origin?!" Team Fairy Tail, even the ones in the infirmary, asked.

"Ultear gave them that ability, too?!" Gray asked.

"There goes our only hope of beating them…" Lucy sighed.

Jiemma smirked in the crowds, "Behold: The power of Sabertooth!"

Yukino's body began to glow brightly in the center of the arena, its power emitting so much energy that Kagura was pushed back a few feet from the girl. The entire place began to rumble as Yukino felt magic power grow within her.

"What is this power…?" Kagura whispered.

"Don't tell me she's going to…" Rogue trailed off in shock.

"I've got to admit, that light looks really tasty," Sting said offhandedly, making his entire team sweatdrop.

Rogue's grip on the railing tightened, ' _The spell Jiemma had given her last year...such dark magic…'_

* * *

" _Yukino," Jiemma walked up to the intended girl. He placed a paper that seemed to have been ripped out of a book, "Read this."_

 _Yukino looked up from her dinner plate, reading the paper in front of her._

" _Master...is this dark magic?"_

" _Light magic, dark magic, it makes no difference. Rumor has it that it is one of the most powerful spells that Celestial Wizards can perform."_

 _Yukino read the spell name over and over again. She had seen it before, remembering her long-lost sister once reading it in their childhood home all those years ago._

'Nee-san got in trouble for reading this spell in a book. How powerful is it?'

 _Jiemma walked away before Yukino could refuse to answer. Rogue peaked over her shoulder, reading the spell that Yukino was staring intensely at._

" _He's finally showing you some attention," Rogue brought up as Frosch jumped onto the table to get a better look at the spell, "Why aren't you jumping in joy like you said you would?"_

" _This spell...it's dark. Like nearly Zeref level dark. I've seen it before. My sister had asked our parents about it and got in trouble for it. My mother told us to never think about it ever again."_

" _What makes it so dark?"_

" _It calls forth the power of 'dead' spirits. Fallen stars, if you will. These are spirits who were banished from the Spirit World because they had committed an unforgivable crime."_

 _Rogue turned his head in confusion as he sat next to her to listen to her better. He had never seen her so serious before. Her jolly, polite personality was conflicting this side of her. Her voice was cold, her eyes hard. Her face even darkened a little._

" _But these spirits do not wander the regular Earthland like other banished spirits. No, these spirits are the epitome of monsters in the Spirit World. They were banished to another world, one that was filled with darkness."_

" _And this spell...brings them to the Earthland?"_

" _Yes. It gives the caster their powers. Such usage could result in the Celestial Spirit King himself paying a visit to the user and likely result in loss of all keys and contracts the user formed with other spirits."_

" _You can't practice this spell," Rogue declared, "Your keys are too important to you."_

" _But if Master wants-"_

" _To hell what he wants," Rogue whispered to make sure Jiemma couldn't hear him, "You aren't losing your keys."_

" _There may be a time when I must use it and-"_

" _Then promise me you won't use it until you_ absolutely _need it."_

" _Rogue-sama…"_

" _Promise. Me."_

" _I-I promise…."_

* * *

"Gomen, Rogue-sama…" Yukino whispered, "I have to win this. My life is on the line." Rogue's eyes widened as he realized what she was going to do.

"Yukino! Please, not this!"

"Rogue, what are you talking about?" Sting asked as the rest of the team's eyebrows arched. Rogue ignored them, continuing to yell to convince Yukino to stop.

"Silence!" Jiemma's voice boomed from the stands, which were right by the team's location. Rogue gritted his teeth in anger, letting out a silent 'tch' before listening to his master.

Yukino's body began to glow even brighter as she spread her arms out as if they were wings, letting more magic flow into her.

"I call upon the depths of the abandoned. I call forth the forgotten. I call, seeking for your power."

* * *

"Loke, what is this magic?" Lucy asked, leaning closer toward the lacrima.

"I-I'm not sure…"

"It ain't good. I can tell you that." Gray commented as the group in the informary continued to watch.

' _Who is she?'_ Lucy thought to herself, worried about the girl's abilities. If she had Second Origin and could use a spell that seems to rival Urano Metria itself, what else could she do?

"Lucy," Loke turned to her, "Should you fight this girl, you will need all of your energy. Have you perfected your move with Gemini? Can you two perform Urano Metria near perfectly?"

Lucy sadly shook her head, "We can't seem to get our magic high enough. Without an enhancement, I won't be able to get it as powerful as the one I took down Angel of Oración Seis with."

Loke looked down, "I feel like I've heard this spell before. I can't put my mind on it, but it definitely isn't something you want to be the target of. This Kagura girl better have some kind of defense."

* * *

"Powers of the banished, become risen once again," Yukino continued her incantation. Kagura, still taken aback from the light and the force of the light, could only stare in awe.

"I will be your key," Yukino opened her eyes, which had turned black with red irises. Many gasped at the sight of the girl, her eyes full of evil and darkness. "Open, Gate to the Abandoned! Banished Void!"

"Kagura, move!" Girls in Mermaid Heel were instructing. Kagura awoke from her daze at the sight of the power and got up. She remembered hearing Rogue tell Yukino to not perform this spell...what was it's capabilities?

That didn't matter. Right now, she had to stop it. Kagura, using her gravity magic, made herself light enough to be able to move from the force of Yukino's light.

Kagura took her unsheathed blade and slashed through the light, extinguishing it immediately. Using her sheer strength, Kagura pushed her way through to Yukino, whose body now had a red magic circle underneath it. Yukino's demon-like eyes were shining from the power of the spell she was in the middle of casting, the sight scary enough to make many kids in the crowds cry.

' _This spell…'_ Rogue thought to himself as he observed the battle, ' _It does not call forth the banished spirits. It gives her their abilities…'_

Yukino stood up, her hands ignited in black and red energy. In the swirling energy sat tiny little sparkles.

* * *

"That's...dark Celestial energy…" Loke announced, remembering where he had heard of this spell before, his eyes widening, "That's the most forbidden spell in the Spirit World!"

"Eh?" Lucy asked.

"This...this will not settle well with the King…"

"Loke, I've never heard of this spell."

"It's a spell that rivals a perfected Urano Metria. It is almost like the complete opposite."

"I'm still confused…"

"Just know that this is magic you need to steer away from. This dark magic, if perfected, can rival Zeref himself."

* * *

' _Just push...a little further…'_ Kagura thought as she ran toward Yukino. The magic was, without a doubt, dark. Why was she taking the battle to such extremes? Is she _that_ serious about the Games? What is she trying to prove?

Kagura's grip tightened on her sword, ' _Maybe...maybe if I unleash it…'_ she contemplated, but shook her head.

Kagura let out a cry as she ran faster toward Yukino, finally reaching the girl in the center of the arena. Yukino aimed to attack Kagura with the energy beam she was given from the spell, but Kagura's speed was, to say the least, impressive.

Kagura slashed her clothed sword right past Yukino. Suddenly, the light around Yukino extinguished as everything in the arena suddenly went still.

"W-what…?" Yukino whispered as she fell to the ground. Her eyes returned to their normal state as tears welled up in her eyes.

' _I...I was willing to sacrifice my keys...my friends...for a stupid battle. All for what, proving to master that I can keep up with my teammates? That I'm not some weak link on the team? Just how desperate can I get?'_

Kagura remained silent, standing over the fallen Yukino. **Mermaid Heel +10**

The rest of the crowd gave off confused looks. Kagura had not only slashed through 2 gold keys, but also a black one _and_ Yukino's most powerful spell. After a few moments, the confusion wore off and the crowd began to cheer for Kagura.

"I-I lose…" Yukino whispered, now crying.

* * *

"Oh no…" Rogue trailed off. However, he didn't care that Yukino had taken a loss, or that she had broken her promise and possibly sacrificed her keys. He cared because Yukino had bet her life. Who knows what this Kagura woman will do to her? Rogue immediately went into shadow form and went straight to Yukino, helping her up.

"What's he doing?" Sting muttered, not used to seeing Rogue disobeying orders from Master to not help anyone who is injured in the tournament.

"Arigatou, Rogue-sama…" Yukino whispered as she used him for support. Her voice and face then dropped as she remembered what just happened. "I broke my promise…"

"Don't worry about that right now. That spell took a toll on your body. Wendy'll heal you right up."

"You bet your life," Kagura interrupted, reminding the girl. Her sword still in a battle position, Yukino nodded. The entire crowd went silent, remembering the bet.

"I know. I'm prepared for the consequences," Yukino told her. Kagura stepped closer to her, readying her weapon.

"Please…" Rogue tried to stop her, holding his hand up. However, Kagura did not listen. The sword was brought up in the air, Kagura making it seem as if she was going to unsheathe it. Mermaid Heel's team all gave off shocked expressions, but Kagura stopped.

"This blade is to shed the blood of someone else. I will not stain it with your blood." Kagura told the girl, placing her blade back onto its holster, "You made a cheap bet. It was brave of you, but it was also reckless."

Yukino remained speechless at that.

"You really don't know how to hold back, huh? I guess you Saber folks aren't all talk."

Kagura walked off and reunited with her guildmates, who were all cheering for her win. Rogue slowly walked Yukino back in silence, not knowing what to say. There was no way that Jiemma would forgive this. Unleashing her most powerful spell and _failing_. Jiemma would be angry and disappointed beyond belief.

And Rogue was right. In the stands, Jiemma was infuriated. His entire body was giving off waves of anger. Everyone in the stands slowly shifted away from him, afraid of what he would do.

At the end of day 2, Sabertooth had gained 0 points. The standings were:

 **Mermaid Heel: 32 pts**

 **Lamia Scale: 29 pts**

 **Sabertooth: 20 pts**

 **Fairy Tail: 17 pts**

 **Quatro Cerberus: 16 pts**

 **Blue Pegasus: 6 pts**

* * *

"How embarrassing," Jiemma, sitting on his chair, said to the entire guild. They were all in the inn, silent as they all bowed down to him, "Rise."

Everyone stood up as commanded. Wendy, whose hand was intertwined with Sting's, gave off a small shiver in fear. She never saw him so mad. He really was a monster.

"Sting, I give you a second chance. Don't ever put up such a pathetic act ever again," Jiemma told the White Knight. Sting nodded.

"I won't let you down ever again."

"As for you, Yukino," Jiemma took the piece of cake in front of him and threw it at the girl, hitting her in the head.

"I lost. I've forever stained the name of Sabertooth," Yukino explained, not looking for any redemption. Wendy could feel tears form, but quickly wiped them away. Crying in the presence of the master would definitely get her punished.

"That's not all," Jiemma corrected, "You wagered your pathetic little life and you _lost_. What's worse is the fact that your opponent showed you mercy. But that's not as bad as it gets. You showed your power to everyone in Fiore, and got beaten in a single hit."

Yukino stood in silence, knowing how much she had hurt the guild's reputation.

"I give you a single spell. Just _one_ spell. And you manage to fuck it up."

Yukino felt tears well up, but wiped them away.

"WE ARE SABERTOOTH!" Jiemma growled, "WE MAKE THE HEAVENS ROAR. THE EARTH BOIL. THE SEAS SILENT." he shouted at the top of his lungs. Bystanders outside the inn stopped what they were doing, hearing the cries of Jiemma from all the way out there.

"You have done nothing for this guild," Jiemma lowered his voice, "You are nothing. And because you are nothing, your dignity and your pride will be stripped to nothing."

Rogue clenched his fists, knowing what Jiemma would do next. He looked away, not wanting to see his fears come true.

"Take off your clothes," Jiemma instructed the girl.

"As you wish," Yukino slowly did as told, blushing from pure embarrassment as she felt the eyes of all of her comrades.

"Yukino…" Frosch trailed off before, consequently, getting shushed by Lector.

Yukino stood, bare naked in front of the entire guild. Her blue guild mark, located on the left side of her waist, caught Jiemma's attention. He snarled, "Erase your mark."

Yukino silently did as told, not afraid to let her tears flow. She took her hand and wiped it away, using her other arm to cover her chest. Every bit of ink on her waist was erased, along with every bit of pride she hand.

Jiemma threw more food at her. This time, it was grapes. She took the hits, not showing any will to fight back.

"Get out of my sight, trash."

Yukino bowed down to him, "For all of the opportunities I got here...arigatou," she thanked, knowing she will cherish her memories with the guild forever.

' _I have to help her...but…'_ Rogue thought. He knew what would happen if he did help her. He'd be kicked out of the guild, too. ' _Is it worth it?'_

Rogue shook his head. Where would he go if he was kicked out? And what about Frosch? Frosch and Lector are inseparable. And Sting...and Wendy...they all have stood by him for all of these years. He can't leave his family either, no matter how much it hurts to see Yukino like this. Or maybe he should. Yukino _is_ his friend...he cares so much for her.

Rogue internally sighed at his inner turmoil.

* * *

" _Why are you crying?" an 18 year-old Rogue asked the girl next to him. They had just won the X790 Grand Magic Games, and the two stood on the balcony of their inn. Tears were flowing down Yukino's face as she looked at the sky, seeing the fireworks._

" _You guys are amazing," she confessed, "You guys gave me such a wonderful home. A home that has made me so much stronger. A home that actually accepted me despite how much our fighting skills differ. Arigatou."_

 _Rogue rested himself on the railing, putting on a warm smile._

" _This place wouldn't be the same without you," he told her, "You've been one of the bestest friends to me. Besides, you make the best cookies on the planet." Yukino let out a chuckle as Rogue continued to praise her, "You always act as if everyone here is so much better than you."_

" _That's because it's true, Rogue-sama."_

" _See? You give everyone a '-sama' honorific as if they are so much better than you. Let me tell you a secret," he offered, lowering his head so his mouth was by her ear, making sure she heard him clearly, "We're not on totally different levels. Master put you on our team for a reason. He may say it's because Our Lady wants you to fight for the team, but I think that he thinks you are better than everyone else who isn't on the team. That he sees you as powerful as us."_

" _Rogue-sama…" she trailed off, not quite sure how to respond. Rogue pulled his head away from her ear, staring her in the eye. Their eyes were locked to one another's, the two of them standing in silence. Yukino's eyes were the first to pull away, the Celestial mage letting them fall to look at the Shadow Knight's lips. However, Rogue looked away, apologizing for intruding her personal space._

" _N-no...it's okay," Yukino blushed. They then returned to looking back at the sky, seeing the fireworks as Sabertooth won yet another Grand Magic Games._

* * *

Yukino put her clothes back on before walking through the crowd of her now ex-comrades. She refused to look at any of them in the eye, too ashamed. Wendy, still holding onto Sting's hand, gave an apologetic look to the girl. Sting, on the other hand, looked expressionless.

' _If that's what happens if I lose again...I can't lose anymore! No more playing around...I have to take this seriously!'_ The boy clenched his free fist, ' _I'm coming for you, Fairy Tail!'_

The only person Yukino decided to make eye contact with was Rogue. Her eyes locking with his, silently telling him goodbye. His eyes were full of sadness, but the teen did not do anything to stop Yukino. He let her walk away.

' _Goodbye, Yukino.'_

* * *

That night, Sting and Wendy sat on the balcony railing. Neither of them could sleep, and neither of them wanted to go check on Rogue. He and Yukino were the closest compared to his other relationships with his team. When Wendy, Carla, Sting, and Lector decide to go on a mission together, he, Yukino, and Frosch would usually go on a different one. If it ever came down to the team splitting up, Sting and Wendy would become partners and Rogue would partner up with Yukino.

Sting's entire aura had changed after what happened that night. One sign of weakness made a girl, his _friend_ , lose her membership and her pride. Sting decided that he wasn't going to be weak anymore. He had to act like Jiemma if he wanted to win.

 _'No more excuses. No more weakness. No more embarrassment. We are Sabertooth. I will not let our pride fall.'_

 **BAM**

An explosion was heard from the bottom floor of the building. Sting and Wendy, along with their Exceeds, ran to the hallway to see what was up. Orga was already running downstairs as the two Dragon Slayers opened the door to Rogue's room to wake him and Frosch up.

"What's going on?" Rogue, who was actually awake the whole time, asked his comrades.

"I think it's an intruder," Sting shrugged. Rogue nodded and put on his robes, hiding his once exposed body as the trio ran downstairs to check out what was going on.

When they reached the bottom floor, the wall between the stairs and the main lobby was burst open. The knocked out body of one of the Sabertooth wizards came flying through the wall, nearly hitting the trio. Wendy immediately healed the guy as Sting and Rogue ran to check out the intruder.

"WHERE'S YOUR MASTER?!" an oh-so-familiar voice yelled as he kicked through the crowd of wizards surrounding him. Sting and Rogue immediately gasped as Wendy looked up in shock.

"Natsu-san?!" Wendy cried out in absolute confusion.

"WHERE IS HE?!" Natsu kept calling out, ignoring Wendy's cry.

"He's coming after the master?" Sting asked out of shock.

"That's suicide…" Lector trailed off, staring at the scene in front of him.

"Fro mo...sou omou…" Frosch, too, trailed off.

Natsu kicked through more crowds of Saber's members. It was obvious that his power had barely been used on them. His eyes were full of rage, his flames ignited bigger than Wendy's ever seen before.

"What...what is he thinking?" Rogue, dumbfounded, whispered.

"He probably isn't thinking…" Wendy sweatdropped.

"Let's put a stop to this!" Sting grinned widely.

"No," a voice, the one in which Natsu was looking for, boomed, "Let me handle this."

"You're the master, eh?" Natsu wiped his mouth as he knocked out yet another Saber member.

"I don't have anyone like you in here, brat," Jiemma stepped in front of Natsu, eyes as cold as ever, "This is quite interesting."

"Kicking someone out after one loss, eh?"

Rogue let out a sound full of shock, "Is he here...about Yukino?"

"That's none of his business!" Sting declared. Wendy only kept watching, her eyes meeting with Natsu's.

"This is the guild that you left for, huh." Natsu gritted his teeth, "Looks like I'll have to teach you guys a lesson!"

"Dobengal," Jiemma instructed. The mage accepted, becoming Natsu's opponent.

"I am one of the S-Class mages here. Prepare yourself!" Dobengal said. Natsu, however, just let the guy come at him and then punched him aside, knocking Dobengal out immediately. Wendy gulped at the sight of Dobengal losing so easily.

"So you are worthy. Come, fairy trash!" Jiemma taunted, ready for the attack as Natsu ignited his fists.

"Fine! But if you kick people out so easily, might as well give you a taste of your own medicine! Iif you lose, you're kicked out of Sabertooth!" Natsu shouted, jumping into the air as a stream of fire formed.

"Natsu-san!" Wendy yelled worriedly. She knew what was going to happen, and she was scared. Frightened, even. They may be enemy guilds right now, but Natsu was still Natsu. She admired and adored him all those years ago. She didn't want to see him get hurt. Knowing Jiemma, he _will_ hurt Natsu.

Jiemma doesn't know how to hold back.

Jiemma doesn't know mercy.

Jiemma doesn't know the difference between strength and brute force.

Wendy could only watch as Jiemma prepared an attack. She's seen him do this before. The amount of power he was gathering was bigger than anything she'd seen.

He is planning to kill Natsu.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading!**

 **Yukino's power-up may seem sudden, but every character who got Second Origin (in Sabertooth) will get a chance to show their powers. I understand if you don't agree, but I don't want to just follow canon with little changes!**

 **Next chapter: Natsu vs Jiemma (you guys know how that turns out) and the start of GMG Day 3, as well as Yukino and Eclipse stuff.**

 **Teaser for the next 2 chapters: Wendy _will_ be getting some action on day 3! I'm looking forward to it!**

 **Don't forget to check out my new Tumblr!**

 **Until next time!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters.**


	15. A Guild

**A/N: Woohoo! New chapter!**

 **This starts before the last chapter ended (where Natsu attacked the guild). This is going to be Yukino's backstory chapter because it's only right I give the girl one considering how much focus she's gotten in the last chapter.**

(Sorry for self-promotion) **Don't forget to check out my new tumblr: EternalDragonSlayer! Thanks in advance!**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Yukino stepped foot into the outside world, leaving behind her home that was Sabertooth. Walking to the café that was next door to the inn.

The first thing she did was cry. She dragged her suitcase and cried her eyes dry. People would only walk by her and stare, but they never did anything about it. Yeah, it was odd to see a Sabertooth mage show themselves in such a vulnerable state, but they didn't know that she was just kicked out of the guild.

And Yukino had _every_ right to cry. She was forced to strip naked in front of people she had known for _years_ and get food thrown at her. She could still smell the cake and the grapes in her hair despite washing them out in the café's bathroom.

 _'What will I do now?'_

A light appeared behind Yukino and the sound of a gate opening appeared. Yukino, wiping her tears, looked up.

"You should really stop crying in front of people," a voice sounded out. It belonged to a woman, her voice quite deep and mature. Yukino recognized this voice immediately.

"Ophiuchus..."

Sitting in the chair in front of her was a young, slender woman. She had blue eyes and long, dark blonde hair that flowed perfectly past her shoulders. The woman donned a black, scaly jacket and a metallic silver tank top underneath. On the back of the jacket was her zodiac symbol, situated right on top of her left shoulder blade. She wore nurse cap over her head and had on regular white pants. Around her waist was a belt that took the form of a snake, its buckle being the snake's head biting into its own tail.

Ophiuchus was Yukino's first key, given to her when her village was attacked by child raiders.

* * *

 _"Mommy...daddy...where are you going?" a young Yukino innocently asked as she wiped her eyes out of tiredness. It was the middle of the night and her parents were both running frantically around the house._

 _"Yukino, stop asking questions," Yukino's mother commanded, stopping in her tracks to talk to the little girl, "Where's your onee-san?"_

 _"U-upstairs..."_

 _"Sorano!" Yukino's father yelled at the stairs, "Get down here, now! We're leaving this instant!"_

 _Sorano, Yukino's older sister, ran down the stairs. "What's going on?"_

 _"We are about to be attacked. We're heading to safety," their mother explained. At that moment, an explosion occurred near the family, taking out their entire front portion of the house._

 _"Mom! Dad!" Sorano yelled out as she saw the two of them fall to the ground. They were standing just mere inches from the explosion, and Sorano already knew the worst had happened._

 _"No!" Yukino cried out as the girl began to cry._

 _Sorano ran to her little sister, grabbing her hand as she dragged her out the back of the house._

 _"We have to go, Yukino!" Sorano declared as more explosions sounded out behind them._

 _"B-but...mommy! Daddy!"_

 _"Run, Yukino!" Sorano demanded, her tone so cold compared to the warm and loving one she had protected Yukino with._

 _Yukino stood up, doing as told. She tightened her grip on her older sister's hand and the two kept running._

 _However, they didn't get very far. The attackers, who were Zeref followers, managed to find the two girls._

 _Sorano gritted her teeth, a tear falling down as she realized what she had to do._

 _"Yukino," Sorano whispered as the girls stopped for a rest in the forest._

 _"Onee-sama?" Yukino practically crawled to the girl, out of breath._

 _"You have to go, Yukino. Run. Never stop running."_

 _"Eh?"_

 _"They'll never stop until they catch one of us. Go, Yukino..."_

 _"N-no! Don't leave me either, onee-sama!" Yukino let her tears fall again. Sorano frowned, crying as hard as her younger sister._

 _"I love you, Yukino..."_

 _"Please!"_

 _Sorano got on her feet, walking to Yukino as the girls cried harder. She bent down to meet Yukino's eye level, putting a smile on her face._

 _"You're going to live on, Yukino," Sorano pulled out an unknown thing from her pocket. Upon closer observation, Yukino immediately recognized it. It was a key, not just any key, either. It was a black Celestial Spirit key, the only one of its kind._

 _"That's...that's mommy's..."  
_

 _"No," Sorano corrected, "It's yours. Mom gave it to me last night when she said she would train me in Celestial Spirit magic. And now, I'm giving it to you."_

 _Sorano gave the girl the key, closing Yukino's fist tight to tell her to never lose it._

 _"O...onee-sama..."_

 _"Goodbye," Sorano kissed the girl's forehead before getting up to surrender to the attackers. Yukino took this as her sister's way of telling her to run the other way._

 _Yukino ran the other way, crying but never looking back._

 _"Live on, Yukino..."_

* * *

 _"Okay..why won't you open, key?" a much older Yukino asked herself in the reflection of the lake. She had been traveling around the country for many years now, stopping at local guilds just to get food and clothes. She eventually got into a wizard guild known as Phoenix Grave just to get money for herself. All these years had passed and the girl, now 10, still hasn't learned how to use her sole key. She had met a few Celestial mages in her travels, but none were able to help her get her magic power high enough to open a single gate._

 _"It's because you got a super strong key, most likely. Try finding some silver ones. Those are great starter keys." one had told her._

 _And yet, Yukino failed to find a single key. She's been traveling for 5 years and has never gotten her hands on any other keys._

 _She sighed and tried once again._

 _"I am connected with the path to the Celestial Spirit world. Heed my call! Pass through the gate! Open, Gate of the Snake Charmer, Ophiuchus!"_

 _The sound of a gate opening was heard, much to Yukino's excitement as she thought she had finally done it._

 _However, the sound went away, as did the magic circle hovering over Yukino. And nothing came out._

 _"Seriously!?" Yukino, frustrated, exclaimed._

 _"You called?" a woman's voice sounded out from behind the girl. Yukino immediately turned around, and the second she did, her jaw dropped._

 _In front of her was a large, mechanical black snake that seemed to be made of both organic and mechanical parts across it's body._

 _"Y-you're the snake charmer?!" Yukino stuttered, nearly falling into the lake out of shock._

 _"And you're the one who summoned me?"  
_

 _"Y-yes..." Yukino whispered out of fear. The spirit's voice was quite scary, if she did say so herself._

 _"Well aren't you tiny!" Ophiuchus teased as it's body began to glow brightly._

 _"E...eh?"_

 _"Oh my," Ophiuchus hummed, "Your magic power is really tiny."_

 _"None of the other wizards want to teach me..." Yukino sadly sighed._

 _The spirit suddenly disappeared back to the Spirit World. Yukino gasped, realizing that she had already ran out of magic power. Yukino frowned and began to walk back to the guild building before she heard the gate opening again._

 _"Hmpf. You need some training. You can't keep my gate open long enough to even form a contract!" the same voice teased. Yukino turned around, only to be greeted by a human-looking spirit instead of the huge snake she had summoned. The spirit wore a black jacket that donned the Ophiuchus zodiac sign._

 _"O-Ophiuchus?"_

 _"Yeah; This is my human form," Ophiuchus explained, "It's a lot easier to move and talk in this."_

 _The two then formed their contract together, Ophiuchus telling the girl that she was available everyday._

 _"You were my mother's key," Yukino brought up, "How come I never saw you get summoned by her?"_

 _Ophiuchus sighed at this, crossing her arms, the spirit told her, "Because she never wanted to. I waited for years to finally get summoned into Earthland, but your mother never did. We formed a contract, but that was it."_

 _"Was she scared of you?" the ten year-old innocently asked, somewhat offended the spirit. However, Ophiuchus quickly let that slide in hopes of not scaring this one off, either._

 _"I think so. That's why I adopted this human form."_

 _"Say, Ophiuchus?"_

 _"Yes?"_

 _"Can you train me?" Yukino shyly asked, "None of the wizards here seem to like me here."_

 _Ophiuchus observed the girl's sadness. The little girl was on the verge of crying, and it was obvious how lonely she was. The spirit couldn't help but realize that if her contract with Yukino's mother was severed, and the girl was alone, then the worst must have happened._

 _"Alright. But I'm not going to go easy on you."_

 _"Arigatou!"_

 _Ophiuchus would later agree to train Yukino everyday, in both magical and physical abilities. Once Yukino got strong enough, she left Phoenix Grave to explore the world alone, at the young age of 15. She would travel for a whole year before ending up in the city of Rabenda, where she would fight alongside the Triple Dragons and finally join the guild she felt that she truly belonged in: Sabertooth._

* * *

"Tell me, Yukino," the unaged spirit leaned over the table to talk to her owner, "Why are you crying? It wasn't that Rogue boy, was it?"

Yukino shook her head, "Sabertooth...they kicked me out. Master had me...had me strip naked and erase my guildmark in front of everyone..." Yukino began to cry harder.

"Isn't this the guild that's so hellbent on being the strongest?" Yukino nodded. "Then why the hell did they kick you out?! You got me and two gold spirits! And those silver ones ain't anything to look down on, either! I gave you those keys! They're some of the strongest silver keys I could get my hands on!"

"I won't have these keys for long..." Yukino mumbled.

"What do you mean?"

Yukino remained silent, the guilty look in her eyes telling the spirit all she needed to know.

"You did not..." Ophiuchus whispered.

"I..."

"Baka! You are the biggest baka in the world!" Ophiuchus shouted at the girl.

"Ophiuchus, please don't yell-"

"No, I'm yelling! Why in the world would you ever do this!? That spell is forbidden! Yuki, I swear, if you killed anyone with it then-"

"I didn't kill anyone with it, I swear! The attack didn't even have a chance to fire..." Yukino defended, "And please don't call me Yuki..."

"I heard that gold lion spirit talk about this earlier and-Oh no!" Ophiuchus's eyes widened, the spirit leaving to go back into the Spirit World.

"O-Ophiuchus?" Yukino took out the spirit's key and tried summoning her, but the spirit did not come out.

"The punishment must have been inflicted..." Yukino concluded, shedding a few tears, "Goodbye, Spirits."

* * *

"Say, you're Saber's Celestial mage!" Lucy recognized the girl as soon as the two engaged in conversation inside Fairy Tail's inn.

"Not anymore," Yukino mumbled to herself, none of the other Fairy Tail members hearing her, except Natsu. Natsu's ears perked up, but the boy brushed it off to continue listening to the girl.

"What are you doing here?" Erza asked suspiciously, "Is something wrong with Wendy?"

"N-no..." Yukino answered, "I came to speak with you." The girl looked at Lucy.

"M-me? For what?"

Yukino silently placed her two gold keys onto the table.

"The keys to the Heavenly Scales: Libra and the Paired Fish: Pisces. Lucy-sama, I would like you to take them."

The Team Fairy Tail members all gave off shocked looks as Lucy looked at the two keys. "W-what? Why?"

"That spell that I had cast against Kagura-sama..." Yukino trailed off, not able to find the words as she herself was still shocked at this.

"Loke told me about it...where did you learn of such magic?"

"I first heard of it as a young child, but I learned it from Master Jiemma," Yukino explained, "I vowed to never use it unless I was willing to pay the price."

"What price?" Laxus, who had been staying in the room since Gray was still in the infirmary, asked.

A single tear rolled itself off of Yukino's cheek, landing on the table beneath her, "If a Celestial Spirit wizard uses this, they sacrifice their keys."

"W-what? Why would someone be willing to pay a price as big as that?" Lucy asked, gripping her hand tight onto her pouch that held her keys.

"My life...it was on the line. I wasn't going to win any other way. Not with Libra, Pisces, and Ophiuchus hurt like that. But if I had known that Kagura-sama wasn't serious...then..."

"You did not actually fire the spell though," Erza recalled the events from that day, "So the Celestial Spirit King should take that into consideration."

"He has," a new voice appeared behind the group, causing them all to get into battle stances. Yukino stood up from her seat, knowing who that voice belonged to.

"Ophiuchus!" the girl ran to give the spirit a hug.

"That's the big snake?!" Lucy asked offhandedly.

"Why didn't you come out of the gate earlier?" Yukino asked, holding the spirit who was like a sister to her even tighter.

"I was speaking with the king," Ophiuchus answered. Yukino released from the hug, letting out a confused sound. "I told him how you did not hurt anyone with the spell you cast earlier. As his second-in-command, I recommended to him that he just let you off with a warning."

"R-really?"

"Thankfully, he agreed." Ophiuchus told her. Yukino immediately smiled, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "But if you even _think_ of doing that spell ever again, he'll take away your keys without hesitation."

"A-arigatou!" Yukino was now giving off happy tears, pulling the spirit into another hug. Team Fairy Tail all smiled at the sight of the reunion. Though they didn't know Yukino at all, seeing others' happiness would always bring a smile to their faces.

"You've gotten onto the kings list, Yukino. And you don't ever want to be on there."

"List? What list?"

"A watchlist. He's going to be watching your every move now, Yukino. Don't be stupid anymore. Promise?"

"Promise," Yukino nodded at Ophiuchus.

Lucy grabbed the two keys on the table and went to hand them to Yukino. "I believe these are yours."

"My offer still stands, Lucy-sama," Yukino told her, "You have 10 keys already, so once you get the last of the 12, you can finally reunite the Zodiacs."

Lucy looked at the two keys in her hand, then back at Yukino.

"If you care for Libra and Pisces as much as you care for Ophiuchus, then I cannot take these."

Yukino smiled and nodded, taking the keys back, whispering, "Arigatou."

"Why were you so willing to give them away? The Games aren't over yet." Laxus inquired.

Yukino's smile immediately dropped, along with Ophiuchus's.

"For me, they are over."

"Eh? Why?" Lucy asked.

"Because I lost to Kagura-sama," Yukino simply stated.

"They kicked you out of the team just because of one loss?" Erza asked, shocked.

"Not just the Games," Ophiuchus corrected, "Those bastards kicked her out of the damn guild!"

At this, Natsu's fists immediately clenched, his face going dark.

"What'd you just say?"

* * *

"Become reduced to ash!" Jiemma boomed as he blasted his attack toward Natsu.

"Natsu-san!" Wendy worriedly yelled out. However, she had no reason to worry. Natsu jumped into the air, using his fire to push him up and over the attack.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu yelled as he attempted to hit Jiemma. Jiemma held his palm up and the attack split into two, going around the man.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu jumped at the master, punching him over and over again. The punches, though great in both quality and quantity, had no effect whatsoever.

"You call this the power of a dragon?" Jiemma asked as he grabbed Natsu and tossed him into the wall.

"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" Natsu charged, producing two large streams of fire and slashing Jiemma with them. Jiemma, however, seemed unharmed by them.

"Fire won't work on its own, eh?" Natsu was still full of energy.

"On its own?" Sting asked.

"Could he...have another element?" Rogue questioned in shock.

"That's...impossible…" Wendy trailed off.

"Lighting Flame Dragon Mode!" Natsu announced, making lightning fuse with his fire.

"Laxus-san's power?" Wendy could only stare in awe. She had never met Laxus, but based the lightning Natsu was wielding was no doubt the power of a dragon, and Laxus is the only Lightning Dragon Slayer out there. ' _The ability to fuse two elements together...how strong has he gotten?'_

"Lightning Flame Dragon's Firing Hammer!" Natsu shouted. He engulfed lightning and fire around both of his fists and forearms, preparing to strike Jiemma. Jiemma's eyes widened at the sight of such power. Natsu swung his arms at Jiemma, firing the attack.

"Sugoi…" Wendy whispered. The attack Natsu fired, however, seemed to have missed Jiemma entirely. It hit the back of the room, completely demolishing that part of the building.

"Huh?" Natsu and the members of Sabertooth asked in shock.

"My, my," a woman's voice came from behind the group of people, "You've started quite the ruckus, Fairy."

"Minerva-san!" Wendy recognized the voice.

"Who the hell are you?" Natsu asked, not hearing Wendy call her by her name already. This woman somehow managed to teleport his attack and move it to hit the back wall.

"You don't remember seeing her?" Wendy sweatdropped. Minerva was there for the Fairy Tail vs Sabertooth fight 3 months ago...

"Minerva Orland, heir to the throne of Sabertooth," Minerva introduced herself.

"So you're his daughter, eh?" Natsu asked and Minerva nodded. "And what's with this whole 'throne' thing? This is a guild, not a monarchy."

"What's the difference?" Jiemma asked. Natsu stiffened. Not in fear, but in anger.

"You seriously don't know? What kind of master are you?"

"Why you-" Jiemma began, but was stopped by Minerva.

"Father, I do not advise that you destroy him," Minerva spoke in her usual formal tone, "Despite him being the one to start this, it will certainly look bad for our guild if you, a guild master, murder a simple member of team Fairy Tail."

"Who're you calling simple?!" Natsu yelled at the girl, but was ignored. "Oi, you wanna go, woman?!"

"Oh?" Minerva gave of a devilish grin. Using her Territory magic, Minerva teleported someone into her hands. Wendy and Carla gasped at this, for Minerva had taken Happy captive.

Happy was crying his eyes out, apologizing to Natsu. It was obvious that he was very scared. Who knows what Minerva would do to him?

"Happy!" Natsu cried out in worry. "You bitc-"

"Leave this place and you'll get this cat back," Minerva sternly instructed. The look on her face made it known that she was not up for negotiating. Natsu nodded and Minerva kept her word. She let Happy go, letting the two embrace.

Natsu shot a look to Minerva, then to Jiemma, and then to Wendy.

"This is the guild you call home, Wendy?" Natsu asked the speechless girl. "Has Fairy Tail taught you nothing about comrades?"

"N...Natsu-san…"

"I hate to say it, but I'm disappointed, Wendy. The 12 year-old I met 7 years ago would do anything for her comrades. Yet you let Yukino go through hell and didn't even mumble a goodbye."

Wendy remained silent, unsure of what to say to him.

"But, for some reason, I still trust your judgement of this place. You're not stupid."

Natsu began to walk out the doors of the inn, acting as if nothing happened. However, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and said, "If you're a guild, take care of your nakama. That's all I came to say."

Rogue's eyes widened at this, and the teen knew exactly what he needed to do.

* * *

"A guild…" Wendy whispered as she and Sting went back to the balcony to continue staring at the view. The lower members of Sabertooth were taking care of the mess Natsu caused. Rogue decided to go back to sleep, as did Orga and the Exceeds.

"2 elements in his body…" Sting murmured, remembering the fusion of lightning and fire that Natsu unleashed.

"Say, Sting," Wendy turned to look at the brooding teen, "Did you consider standing up for Yukino?"

Sting gritted his teeth at that, "No," his tone was cold, his face emotionless.

"Why not?"

"She was weak. Besides, we got our Lady planning to participate in Yukino's place." Sting defended. Wendy gave a concerning look to Sting.

"How could you say such a thing? We spent 2 years fighting by her side! She's anything but weak!

"If she was strong, she would have defeated that Mermaid girl."

"But she is our comrade, Sting! And she got kicked out after just one loss! That's ridiculous, don't you think?"

"You sound like Natsu-san. He's the _enemy_ , Wendy. He's in _that_ guild!"

Wendy began to feel anger flow within her, but pushed it down and sighed, "I'm tired. I'm heading to sleep." She claimed and began to walk off the balcony.

"Goodnight," Sting spoke, his gaze still fixated on the city.

"Sting," Wendy called out to him.

"What's up?"

"Don't act like _him_."

"Him?"

"You know who I'm talking about," Wendy said, giving Sting a glare as his eyes met hers.

"How am I acting like-"

"Promise me you won't say things like that about Yukino or any of our other comrades," Wendy commanded. However, Sting stayed silent, looking away from the girl. Wendy only frowned at this.

"Goodnight." She whispered as she walked to her room.

' _What's going on with him?'_

* * *

Yukino stepped in the train station, holding her purchased train ticket in hand. With nowhere to go, Yukino just bought a ticket to the train to Rabenda.

"Yukino," a familiar voice spoke to the girl. Yukino recognized it, turning it around immediately.

"Rogue-sama!" She exclaimed in happiness from the sound of his voice.

However, it wasn't the Rogue she knew who was talking. When she turned around, she saw a man who looked like Rogue, but his hair was white and in a ponytail. A section of black was on the bangs that covered his right eye. On his left cheek was an unfamiliar tattoo that wrapped around his eye.

"Huh?"

"I'm not the Rogue you're hoping for, but I am Rogue Cheney." The man claimed.

"But...Rogue-sama is-"

"It's a long story, Yukino. But I _am_ him." He grabbed her hands, looking her in the eye. "You have to trust me."

"Rogue-sama…" she trailed off as she accepted his claim. The way he was acting, the way he looked at her...it _had_ to be him.

"We need to go to the palace. I need your help." The man claiming to be Rogue told her. He immediately began to to walk her out of the station and toward the castle.

"The palace? Why?" Yukino asked as she attempted to catch up to him when he began to run.

"I'll explain later. You have your keys, right?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

* * *

 _"If you're a guild, take care of your nakama."_

"I've realized my mistake, Natsu-san," the current Rogue whispered to himself as he entered the building. He was at the train station, tracking Yukino's scent all the way here. He walked up to the ticket booth, taking out his wallet as he asked for a ticket.

"I'm sorry, sir. The train to Rabenda already departed." The desk lady told the teen in front of her. It was the middle of the night, and the station was empty save for a few people. The teen, who was the current Rogue, sighed.

"Did a white-haired girl purchase a ticket to it?" Rogue asked. Yukino would always tell him about how she wanted to go back to Rabenda. It was a beautiful city, he had to admit that.

"I believe so. I do not remember if she boarded the train, but she definitely got a ticket to it."

Rogue nodded and slowly walked out of the station. The second he got outside, he punched the wall next to him, not caring if he was bleeding from it (in which he was. Really badly, too).

He never got to tell her goodbye.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the Grand Magic Games! Today is day 3, and the standings are closer than you'd expect!" The announcer welcomed the crowd back in the stands. The standings were:

 **Mermaid Heel: 32 pts**

 **Lamia Scale: 29 pts**

 **Sabertooth: 20 pts**

 **Fairy Tail: 17 pts**

 **Quatro Cerberus: 16 pts**

 **Blue Pegasus: 6 pts**

"Don't forget that at the end of the day today, the two bottom teams will be eliminated from the tournament!"

Wendy cringed at that. Sabertooth was in third, but a simple loss can easily knock them out for good this year. Mermaid Heel and Lamia Scale are so much stronger compared to the previous years.

"I'm participating today," Wendy declared as she looked at her team. Minerva replaced Yukino while the rest of the team was still the same. Wendy did not wait for her teammates to nod in agreement before walking out to the arena. Sting and Minerva followed the girl.

"Wendy, you okay?" Sting asked worriedly as he walked behind the girl. However, she did not turn around, and just kept walking.

"What'd you say to her?" Minerva asked as Sting stopped in shock from Wendy's actions.

"Nothing," he shrugged off, ' _Maybe it's what I_ didn't _say.'_

"What'd you do to your hand?" Orga asked as he looked at Rogue, whose right hand was bandaged.

"Just a little cut," he assured before walking out onto the arena, "Nothing that'll kill me."

Cheers erupted as Sabertooth came out, but the cheers for Fairy Tail were louder. The fans were so involved in the rivalry that the two guilds had that some fights erupted between Saber and Fairy fans. Meanwhile, the Blue Pegasus and Quatro Cerberus fans remained silent and the Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel fans enjoyed being at the top.

Wendy looked at Team Fairy Tail, which had the same members as yesterday except the fact that Lucy returned. Mira went back to cheering them on, happy with the fact that she at least got to participate for one day.

Natsu and Wendy's eyes met across the arena.

" _I'm disappointed,"_ Natsu's words repeated themselves in Wendy's head. Maybe Natsu was right. Well, who was she kidding? Of course he was right. Jiemma wasn't as good a master as Wendy originally thought. The way he treated Yukino was horrible, but Wendy wasn't going to do anything about it. She _couldn't_ do anything about it. Jiemma's not afraid of killing anyone in the guild, or embarrassing them in public.

"I'm participating in the competition today," Natsu announced, silently hoping it wasn't on any type of transportation.

"No," Erza spoke, her voice as stern and threatening as always, "I am."

"Aye!" Natsu immediately stepped down.

"What's today's event called?" Lucy asked as she looked at the other guilds choosing members to compete.

"Pandemonium," Gajeel answered.

* * *

"The rules for this event are quite simple-kabo," Mato announced as he met the competitors for the day. They were: Erza, Wendy, Millianna, Eve, Nobarly from Quatro Cerberus, and Sherria from Lamia Scale. "The castle is housing 100 monsters, all of different levels. There are 50 D-Class monsters, 30 C-Class, 15 B-Class, 4 A-Class, and 1 S-Class. Each player will go one at a time, choosing the amount of opponents you want to challenge. Whoever defeats the most monsters will be in first. The round will continue until all 100 are defeated or everyone's power runs out."

The competitors all agreed to this, drawing the sticks that Mato was giving out to decide the order of competitors.

Erza looked at her stick, which glew as the number 1 appeared. "I'm going first?" She asked out loud.

Wendy grabbed her stick, seeing the number 6 appear. She'd be going last of all the guilds.

"Erza-sama, since you are going first," Mato walked up to the woman, "How many monsters would you like to face?"

"This is no longer a game," Erza whispered, "In order to regain Fairy Tail, I will ensure victory!"

"Kabo?"

"As a proud member of Fairy Tail, I will remind everyone the strength of our bonds."

 _'What's she going on about?'_ Wendy thought, confused.

"All 100 will be my opponents!"

"EH?!" The entire arena shouted.

"I exercise my right to challenge 100!"

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading!**

 **Well, you all know what's coming next. Pandemonium and MPF.**

 **You all know what Erza does to the event, but you guys don't know what Wendy has up her sleeve in the MPF portion of the event ;)**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters.**


	16. MPF

**A/N: Okay, before I get this chapter started, I want to apologize. It's been a month, I know. I hate leaving you guys hanging like this.**

 **This chapter was written periodically during the month, so some ideas may not seem to connect. It's very fast-paced, mainly to try and get closer to the Eclipse part of the arc. A lot happens, and not much is explained in depth. I'm sorry in advance for this chapter :/**

 **Also, if there's typos, please PM me if they bother you. I don't have a betareader so yeah.**

* * *

The entire arena was rowdy, shocked at Erza's statement.

"All 100?!" Wendy exclaimed. Somewhere in the area, she could hear Natsu and Gray laughing their asses off.

"She's crazy!" Eve cried out in both fear and attraction toward the woman.

"It's 'cause she's Er-chan!" Millianna claimed, smiling as Erza prepared to battle the 100 monsters. She gave off her usual serious look, not even caring that the place she was supposed to fight all 100 monsters was small and upside-down.

Erza entered the upside-down castle, "My name is Erza Scarlet of Fairy Tail. I challenge 100!"

The monsters began to spawn around her. The D-Class monsters were no joke, for they looked hard for anyone to take down. They were probably twice as tall as Erza, and Mato wasn't playing when he called them 'monsters'. They had the most demonic look to them, with sharp teeth, red eyes and horns. Erza, however, seemed unaffected.

"She's reckless as always," Laxus sighed out, "Always trying to get herself killed."

"That's probably what makes her so strong," Gajeel muttered next to the lightning mage, who brushed off the claim.

* * *

"Kansō: Heaven's Wheel Armor!" She chanted. "Blumenblatt!"

The swords followed her command, performing an omni-directional attack. The attack took out many of the D-Class monsters.

"Sugoi…" Wendy trailed off, "She's learned how every monster reacts to attacks!"

"And she can use that to figure out…" Lucy, across the arena, whispered.

"...Exactly which armors to use and when to use them," a voice in the Fairy Tail stands whispered. The voice came from a figure next to Makarov, wearing a face mask that only showed his eyes and part of his blue hair.

Watching Erza go was a thing of beauty. She changed swords within the blink of an eye, using her armor to defend and her sword to counterattack. She had an endless amount of combinations to use on the monsters. She would use flame-protection armor and a water sword to take on fire monsters. She had water protection armor and a lightning sword to beat the water monsters. Everything the monsters gave her, she had an answer to. They were all dropping, the D-Class monsters eliminated in less than 2 minutes. At this rate, her battle would be over within 10 minutes.

"They're dropping like flies!" The announcer shouted into the mic.

"She's something else," the guest announcer, Lahar, smirked.

"She represents all of Fairy Tail. Titania, queen of the fairies!" Yajima smiled.

' _Erza-san…'_ Wendy thought, smiling as she felt tears well up. Seeing Erza in action like this made Wendy's memories flash back to their previous missions together from 7 years ago. Wendy wiped away the tears and continued to watch in awe.

99 of the monsters were gone by the time the battle hit the 10 minute mark. Erza had been injured in her battle against the 4 A-Class monsters, but the injuries were nothing compared to the attacks she was putting out. All that was left was the S-Class monster. Though small at first, it revealed its true form as a beast. However, an S-Class monster was no match for an S-Class Erza. Using her Japanese cloth outfit, known as her Clear Heart clothing, Erza slashed the monster in one strike.

And thus, Erza was victorious over 100 monsters. Erza, on her own, conquered Pandemonium. **Fairy Tail +10**

The rest of the guilds were speechless, Fairy Tail cheering at its loudest level. The crowd shouted Erza's name over and over as Erza held her blade in the air.

She was bleeding, yes, but she wasn't seriously injured.

The rest of her team came down to congratulate her, hugging her tightly despite the injuries.

"That was…" Wendy whispered as she walked up to Erza.

"That was nothing," Erza smiled at the girl, "Sorry I didn't let you have a go at it, though."

"I think watching you was better than me participating," Wendy smiled back, giving the girl a hug. Millianna, too, joined in hugging Erza.

The chanting of Erza's name died down a little, but all the members of Fairy Tail were still going crazy.

"What kind of guild is that?!" One person in the crowds asked.

"That's the guild from 7 years ago! That's Fairy Tail!" Another answered.

"I'm going to root for them from now on!"

* * *

"Ahem...kabo…" Mato slowly walked to the other 5 competitors, "We came up with this last-minute plan to rank the remaining competitors. Nothing flashy, though, it'll test your strength."

Mato unveiled a small device with an orb at the top of it. The 5 contestants turned their heads in confusion.

"This is a Magic Power Finder. MPF, for short. You blast magic at it and the MPF provides a number, measuring your power-kabo."

The competitors nodded in agreement. The first to go up was Millianna, who scored 365. The crowd stayed silent, unsure if it was good enough. According to Lahar, however, that number is high enough to become a Squad Captain.

Next came Nobarly, who scored a low 124. After came Eve, who scored an impressive 957. The next to go was Sherria.

The pink-haired girl hopped past Wendy, flashing the girl a large smile.

"Watch this, Wendy-sensei!" Sherria innocently winked as she walked up to the MPF.

"Wendy...sensei?" Wendy asked, her eyebrow cocked up.

"She's been so hell bent on participating this year just to meet her," Jura smirked as he looked at his teammate in the arena, "It's because of how much you told her about Wendy, Lyon."

"Wendy's become her idol," Sherry told the rest of the group, "Despite how much Sabertooth can piss us off, she loves Wendy."

"She's a likable person. She is the exact opposite of what Sabertooth is. She's kind, she doesn't give a crap about her ego, and she knows how to hold back." Lyon admitted.

"All that, and she's also one of the strongest mages in the Games," the Lamia Scale master, Ooba Babasaama, commented, "Show her your true power, Sherria! Or else I'll spin you!"

* * *

"God Slayer Secret Art!" Sherria yelled, a magic circle appearing underneath her. The arena was beginning to pick up winds, many people's things beginning to fly away. "Heavenly Gathering of Clouds!"

A huge beam of black wind swirled around, heading straight toward the MPF. The entire arena let out an "Ooo" as the attack landed.

Once the attack passed, everyone waited for the number to appear.

It was 3175.

Everyone began to cheer in excitement over Sherria's power.

"Woah…" Wendy whispered, "That's the power that rivals Orga-san's."

"What'd you think, Wendy-sensei?" Sherria asked as she walked to her idol.

"You're really strong," Wendy smiled at the girl.

"Seeing you fight makes me want to become stronger!"

"Eh?"

"Well, sky magic was created to only be used for supporting others, according to my friends at Lamia Scale," Sherria explained, "But seeing you these last few Grand Magic Games have proved that sky magic isn't some kind of supporting magic! It kicks ass, too!"

Wendy was shocked at how much of an impact she had made on the girl. Before she could say anything, however, Mato cut her off by telling her that she had to go.

"Tell you what, Sherria," Wendy placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, "I'll teach you someday."

Sherria's eyes lit up the entire arena, "Really?!" The 15 year-old asked. Wendy nodded.

"But for now, let me show you what sky magic is _really_ capable of."

* * *

" _Master, I've never heard of this spell," a 16 year-old Wendy told Jiemma, who had taken her into the forest to train. He rarely trains anyone so personally, so Wendy knew that this had to have been important._

" _It's an ancient Dragon Slayer spell. Not known to the world, but those who do know it also know of its power."_

" _If it is ancient, how did you find it?"_

" _Connections," Jiemma simply stated._

" _And how do you know Dragon Slayers are the ones who used it?" Wendy tilted her head in confusion as she glanced at the spell scribbled on the paper._

 _Jiemma just ignored her questioning, "Just try it out. I don't have all day."_

" _Of course," Wendy practically bowed as she read the spell._

 _In order to get as much power as possible, Wendy enchanted herself and entered Dragon Force._

" _Winds of the great sky! I call upon thee, shine your light upon this world!" Wendy chanted, "Infinity Winds!"_

 _However, the spell did not work. Despite her entire magic container being full, the spell was no use. Jiemma growled at this, simply muttering, "Disappointment," before leaving the forest._

" _Gomen ne, Master," Wendy whispered, but he was already out of sight. "I'll learn it one day!"_

* * *

' _With Second Origin, I should be able to do this!'_ Wendy assured herself.

"Ille Arms!" Wendy enchanted herself. She also entered Dragon Force at will, her pink hair and white scales not going unnoticed in the arena.

"Dragon Force?!" Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus all exclaimed in shock.

"She's part of the third generation of Dragon Slayers, right?" Lucy asked in wonder.

"I think so. I can't really remember." Natsu shrugged.

"Third generation or not, I can feel her magic power from here," Erza, covered in bandages from her battle, mumbled on the side, "Her strength seems unrivaled to the other 4 wizards down there."

"The Sky Sorceress seems to be taking this very seriously!" Chapati, the announcer, yelled, his excitement rising tenfold.

"Sherria-chan's 3175 is going to be hard to defeat," Yajima added.

"Though if anyone can do it, it's Wendy," Lahar mentioned. Doranbolt always kept watch over the girl the last 7 years, sending soldiers to secretly watch over the girl every once in awhile just to make sure she was okay. Doranbolt never got over how much stronger she had gotten.

Wendy took a deep breath in, clasping her palms together as she allowed winds to gather in the arena.

"Winds of the great sky! I call upon thee, shine your light upon this world!" She chanted, closing her eyes. The winds picked up, blowing rapidly around the entire arena.

"Ka...bo?' Mato, in total awe, choked out.

' _To think that just 7 years ago...she was such a small little girl,'_ Jura thought to himself. He remembered how Wendy was when they formed an alliance to fight Oración Seis. How she said that she couldn't fight at all.

Doranbolt, sitting in the stands, watched, tears forming in his eyes. ' _You're so much stronger…'_

The winds had increased enumerously, blowing every single loose article of clothing, every piece of paper, every flag, and much more, all over the arena. The winds were so great that no one had seemed to notice that she had wrapped the entire arena of Domus Flau in a wind barrier. Somehow, even Gray and Lyon's shirts had been taken off in the wind (assuming they themselves did not strip, of course).

"Sugoi…" Natsu mumbled, looking at Wendy, impressed.

"I've never heard of this one before," Rogue mentioned as all of Sabertooth watched her, their excitement rising.

"Fro too," Frosch added. The same went for the rest of the guild.

"First, what magic is this?" Makarov asked as he looked to Mavis.

"I can tell it is ancient. I have never heard of a spell needing such an incantation," Mavis answered, looking at Makarov, "She was a mage of Fairy Tail?"

Makarov nodded, "She left when we were trapped in Fairy Sphere for 7 years."

"She's very strong, Sixth. This spell, though I do not know of it, seems strong enough to even rival that of the 3 great Fairy Magics, should she master it enough."

Makarov and the rest of Fairy Tail standing by him gasped at this claim, wondering what Wendy is really capable of now.

After what felt like hours of waiting, Wendy opened her eyes, revealing glowing magic seals that had placed themselves over her pink irises.

" **Infinity Winds!** "

Winds from the wind barrier around the arena began to shoot out, as if they were comets from the sky itself. The blasts of wind all came charging toward the MPF, coming one after another as the MPF took the limitless amount of hits. Wendy's palms were glowing a bright white as she channeled nearly all of her energy into the spell.

After a good 20 seconds of hitting the MPF with the wind blasts, the spell ended. With her Second Origin now fully unlocked, her magic power has been increased greatly. However, the spell took out almost all of the ethernano stored in her body. Thankfully, she could heal herself and the ethernano loss wasn't going to cause her to pass out.

The girl exited Dragon Force and looked at the MPF along with everyone else, wondering what her score was.

The thing stayed silent for a few long seconds before beeping a number.

It was 8417.

The entire arena broke out into cheers as Wendy smiled at the score. The crowd cheered her name over and over, similar to how they had just cheered on Erza.

"Lahar-san, how many people have reached past the 8000 mark?!" Chapati asked,

"Well, not everyone has taken the MPF test," Lahar commented, "But I only know of 5 people who have passed 8000 when they were tested."

"Who?"

"The 5 strongest wizards in the country. The top five mages in the Ten Wizard Saints."

Lucy was shocked at this, commenting, "She is on par with them?!"

"Not Wendy herself. Just that spell." Erza corrected, "Though who knows what other spells she has in her arsenal."

"Wendy!" Natsu shouted as the girl turned to look at him, "Fight me!"

Wendy chuckled at that. He was acting as if last night never happened. Granted, everyone was acting like that. It was kinda disappointing, seeing everyone move on from Yukino like it was practically nothing.

After getting much praise from the other 4 wizards competing, especially Sherria, Wendy reunited with her team.

"With that incredible show, Sabertooth takes second place in the event!" Chapati announced. **Sabertooth +8**

Following Sabertooth was Lamia Scale (+6), then Blue Pegasus (+4), followed by Mermaid Heel (+2), and finally Quatro Cerberus (+0).

The standings were:

 **Lamia Scale: 35 pts**

 **Mermaid Heel: 34 pts**

 **Sabertooth: 28 pts**

 **Fairy Tail: 27 pts**

 **Quatro Cerberus: 16 pts**

 **Blue Pegasus: 10 pts**

Mato jumped into the middle of the arena, grabbing the mic as he quieted the crowd, "Before we get started on the battle portion of the day, the judges have decided that because there is no mathematical chance of either Quatro Cerberus or Blue Pegasus getting out of the bottom 2, the two teams' participation in the Games have been terminated-kabo."

Both guilds, though depressed over their loss, knew that this was going to happen. They said their goodbyes to the crowd before heading into the arena to join the rest of their guild.

Wendy felt sorry for the guilds, but knew she couldn't show it. Not with Jiemma hovering over her every move. Even if she couldn't see him, she knew he was watching her every move. Her hearing was good enough to hear from across the arena, and every time she did something that was viewed as 'undesirable' she could hear Jiemma mumble to himself in disappointment.

* * *

"Now, with the battle portion of the day! First matchup: Fairy Tail's Lucy vs Mermaid Heel's Risley!"

Lucy and Risley stood at the center of the arena, both agreeing to the rules that Mato read to them.

Lucy grabbed onto her set of keys, grabbing two of her golden ones as Risley got into her fighting stance.

"Open, Gate of the Goat, Capricorn!" Lucy chanted, releasing the goat humanoid from the Spirit World.

"I fight for Lucy-sama," Capricorn stated before lunging at the girl. Risley changed her gravity to make her fly and flew over his attack.

"Open, Gate of the Ram, Aries!" Lucy shouted.

"Sumimasen!" Aries cried out her normal catchphrase as she hit Risley with a wool bomb.

Risley changed her gravity again, flying away from the two spirits.

"Never underestimate the chubby!" Risley claimed as she charged toward Lucy, who evaded the attacks Risley threw at her with ease.

"Aries, gate close," Lucy pulled out a new key, "Open, Gate of the Lion: Loke!"

"Regulus: Impact!" Loke chanted as he hit the girl with his light attack.

Risley screamed in pain, her gravity magic wearing off now as she fell to the ground.

"Capricorn!" Lucy instructed.

"Of course, Lucy-sama!" Capricorn responded, running to Risley and kicking her, sending her flying across the arena.

"This girl is in the same guild as Kagura?" Orga smirked, "She's getting her ass handed to her by this Fairy trash!"

* * *

Inside the inn, Rufus strolled through the doors, eyes full of hesitation as he looked ahead of him.

"Sir," Rufus nervously walked up to Jiemma, who decided to stay back at the guild's inn for the day after the 'embarrassment' Yukino showed the public the day before.

"What do you want, Rufus?"

"I know that with Our Lady back, you wanted her to make up for yesterday's horrible performance," Rufus quietly and slowly said, "But I remember that _I_ was the one who was selected to serve as the team's reserve member."

"What are you asking for?"

"Sir, I...I am displeased with your decision to put Our Lady into the Games over me."

Jiemma slowly stood up from his seat, "Are you questioning my decisions?"

"N-no!" Rufus pleaded out of fear.

"Are you telling me that I was wrong? That you are stronger than Minerva?"

"I'm not saying that, please!" he took a few steps back from the man, "I'm just saying that _I_ was the one chosen to act as a reserve for the team. I feel jipped of my opportunity to show everyone my strength."

Jiemma walked to the teen, who had sweat rapidly falling from his face as he began to tremble. The last time someone had questioned the master...the last time...if memory serves right…

' _Don't kill me, please!'_ was what Rufus wanted to yell out, but his voice refused to work.

"You are not going to participate in the Games, Rufus," he coldly stated, "But I _do_ have something for you."

* * *

"Are you doing okay, Wendy?" Carla asked the girl, who was leaning on the ledge of the balcony. Wendy was still a little wobbly from the spell she performed earlier.

"Yeah. You can go back to your seat now, Carla," Wendy assured the human Exceed. The girl listened, flying off the balcony and back to join the rest of the Sabertooth guild.

The announcer's voice boomed in the arena, "Risley's fallen to the ground once again!"

"This battle is more intense than I thought it would be," Sting admitted, turning to Wendy, "This Lucy girl must be stronger than she looks, right, Wendy?"

Wendy remained silent, staring at the battle. Lucy was on the verge of victory, trapping Risley with her spirits and using the trap to attack Risley with her fleuve d'etoiles.

"C'mon, Wendy," Sting wrapped his arm around the girl, "You know what I said wasn't anything against you."

" _She was weak,"_ Sting's harsh words about Yukino came to Wendy's mind.

"Anything against Yukino, against a comrade, is also against _me_ ," Wendy replied, grabbing Sting's arm and taking it off of her.

Sting was about to defend himself when suddenly a familiar scent entered the area.

The Triple Dragons all whipped their heads in the same direction, facing the back of the team's balcony on the arena.

"You smell him too, Rogue?" Sting asked his sworn brother. The boy nodded.

"What about you, Wendy?" Rogue turned to the girl, who nodded also.

"You know what this must mean, right?" Wendy asked. The two boys nodded.

"Jellal." They stated in unison.

Minerva and Orga gave the three a weird look before seeing them run out of the balcony and into the tunnel.

"Oi!" Orga yelled, "We haven't gotten to our battle yet!" But the three were already out of sight.

* * *

At the end of the tunnel, the three Dragon Slayers stopped running at the sight of a masked figure.

The figure donned a dark blue cloak and had his arms and legs covered in bandages. He also wore a dark blue bandana with a silver forehead protector on, along with a green mask that covered the bottom half of his face.

Both Sting and Rogue were confused at the man's mysterious getup, but Wendy knew his reasoning for this.

"He's dressed like the former Fairy Tail mage Mystogan," Wendy explained to the two teens next to her, turning to Jellal, "Were you planning on participating?"

"Makarov slotted me as a reserve," Jellal explained, "Because I needed to be inside the arena to do my investigation."

"Investigation?" Sting asked, "Is there a dark mage here? We can fight them if you want."

Two years ago, in X789, the Triple Dragons and Yukino defeated a member of a dark guild that used portal magic. He was going to use a dark spell that rivaled Zeref's magic, but the 4 were able to stop him. To thank them, Jellal and his newly-formed guild Crime Socière decided to allow the 4 to unlock their Second Origin of magic on one condition: They take out dark mages that the independent guild is not able to.

"No," Jellal replied to the blonde, "There's something else. It's not a mage in particular, but the entire arena seems to be emitting magic similar to Zeref. Too similar."

The three gave a shocked look at the revelation.

"Are you saying that the Grand Magic Games have something suspicious about them?" Rogue asked, "It's led by the kingdom, you know."

"Which is why _I_ can't make any moves yet. There's only a small amount of time before my cover is blown, and Ultear and Meredy don't have any way to get into the arena to help. I already told Erza of this plan, and she's doing a solo investigation, but I need more help," he took a look at the three teens in front of him, "Where's Yukino?" he observed.

Wendy looked down in sadness. Rogue turned his head away in shame. Sting, however, was unfazed.

"She's not a Sabertooth mage anymore."

Jellal, at first confused, accepted the statement Sting gave, "The three of you will do. Arigatou."

And with that, he vanished.

The Triple Dragons turned around to walk back to the balcony, where Orga stood, watching Minerva's fight against Lamia Scale's Yuka.

"Black magic and the kingdom? That is not a good combination…" Sting trailed off.

' _Dammit Jellal, why now? I need to focus on the Games. I'm probably going up against Natsu-san tomorrow…'_

Wendy, as if reading the boy's thoughts, placed her hand on his shoulder.

"The public's safety outweighs anything, Sting. Don't ever forget that."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! See what I mean by fast-paced?**

 **Don't worry, though, I promise this will get better, starting with the Naval Battle next chapter (in which we _all_ know what goes down).**

 **The reason I haven't updated was because of school. Since I began to get more involved in writing, my grades have begun to slip in school. The only way I could handle this was taking a break.**

 **My last day of school is May 20 (next Friday) so once summer begins, I'll slowly get back into my groove.**

 **See you guys then!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters.**

(Also don't forget to follow me on Tumblr: EternalDragonSlayer)


	17. The Naval Battle

**A/N: Alright! Slowly getting back into my groove ~(^_^~)(~^_^)~**

 **Updates will probably still be kinda slower than what they were at first for two reasons: 1) It's summer vacation. I do things. And 2) I currently have an overflowing inspiration for my next story Spiritual Waters (a story about a mage who becomes the Water Spirit Slayer). Don't worry! Sabered/Severed Sky are still my priority!**

 ******Minor Spoilers for Fairy Tail ch 487******

 **My reaction: OMGGGGGGGGGGGG MY SHIPPPP! THE CHAPTER WAS AMAZINGGGGG! MY HEART ISN'T READY FOR NEXT WEEK THOUGH**

 ******Spoilers end******

 **Carry on with the chapter ^-^**

* * *

The Triple Dragons returned to their balcony, joining Orga as they looked down at the arena.

Minerva was currently engaged in a battle with Lamia Scale's Yuka.

Well, it _was_ a battle.

Yuka was destroyed. He had wounds all over his body, one of his eyes was closed, and blood was pouring out his side.

"Minerva-san did that in a span of 3 minutes?" Wendy asked in complete shock. Normally, Minerva didn't show her true power until the last day of the Games.

"Actually 2," Orga corrected, "After the Fairy won it took about a minute for this battle to get started."

"Lucy-san won," Wendy smiled, looking at the scoreboard. After Minerva's win, the battle for the top became even closer.

 **Sabertooth: 38 pts**

 **Fairy Tail: 37 pts**

 **Lamia Scale: 35 pts**

 **Mermaid Heel: 34 pts**

Minerva came back onto the balcony, a smug grin on her face, "This year's tournament is nothing."

' _Is he going to be okay?'_ Wendy wondered as she looked at the poor Yuka, who was being treated by Sherria.

"I showed him mercy," Minerva admitted, "Only because his guild is not a threat to our throne. If he was a Fairy, however…" she stopped, giving an evil grin.

Wendy shivered for a second at the thought of what Minerva would have done to one of her former comrades, "You're really going out this year, huh?"

Minerva gave her usual chuckle, stained with coldness, "Wait until I _actually_ get my hands on a Fairy. I'll show your former guild what you left them for."

* * *

Inside the castle of Mercurius, Yukino stood along the balcony, accompanied by a jade-haired woman and the man who claimed himself to be Rogue Cheney from 7 years into the future.

"10,000…dragons…" Yukino trailed off, her eyes completely wide.

"Yes," Future Rogue nodded, "On July 7, X791, just a few days from now, humanity will perish. 10,000 dragons will destroy the world as we know it."

"Rogue-sama…" Yukino whispered, hearing the pain in his voice. If he was the only one to return to this time period, then that meant…

"We can stop it," the jade-haired woman interrupted Yukino's thoughts.

"How, Princess Hisui?" Yukino questioned.

The young woman with the jade hair was Toma E. Fiore's daughter, Hisui, making her the princess of the country. She wore a short, white dress and let her wavy hair fall freely from her head.

"The Eclipse Gate," Future Rogue answered before Hisui could answer. Yukino let out a confused sound.

* * *

It is now the morning of the 4th day of the Grand Magic Games. The remaining 4 guilds are as hyped as ever, each of them knowing that today is the day. This is their chance to gain the biggest lead before heading into the last day.

The standings were:

 **Sabertooth: 38 pts**

 **Fairy Tail: 37 pts**

 **Lamia Scale: 35 pts**

 **Mermaid Heel: 34 pts**

With the four guilds just a few points apart from one another, the competition is at its most intense state yet. Not even Sabertooth can sit comfortably at the top of the board, something they used to be able to do in the previous tournaments.

Inside the inn that housed the entire guild of Sabertooth, only two people were awake: the two early birds of the guild—Wendy and Rogue. Wendy wore a simple, loose white t-shirt and black leggings while Rogue wore his usual high-collared black cape around his light gray shirt.

Rogue held a cup of herbal tea from the inn's continental breakfast in his hands as he sat on the lobby's biggest couch, staring into the wall, deep in thought.

"You're brooding more than usual," Wendy commented as she sipped her coffee, "What's up?"

Rogue snapped out of his thoughts and faced his dear friend, "Nothing...just..." he trailed off, unable to put his answer into words.

"Yukino?"

The sound of her name made him stiffen his posture. Suddenly, the hot tea in his hands felt cold.

"You haven't been yourself since then," Wendy walked over to sit next to him, "I've known you for, what, 5 years now? I can sense if something's up with you."

Rogue only let out a quiet sound before sipping his tea.

"You're like a brother to me, Rogue. You can't deny anything to me. Besides, I can see it. The way you look at Yukino."

The Shadow Dragon blushed a light pink, covering his head in case any other guild members walked in.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he weakly defended, ultimately knowing that his argument had no support at all.

"You lurk in the shadows, brooding all alone wherever we go. At least, that's how you used to be. Whenever Yukino was with us, you seemed...different. I don't really know how to explain it, except by saying something really cliché."

"Go for it," Rogue shrugged. He's heard so many cliché things in his life (thanks to Rufus), so he stopped minding the sayings.

"It was like she was the light in your darkness. The stars in your night."

Rogue remained silent for a few seconds before commenting, "That _is_ really cliché."

"Oh shut up," Wendy smiled, nudging him on the shoulder. The two chuckled for a few short seconds before slowly transitioning back to their serious faces.

"You love her, don't you?" Wendy questioned, "You've loved her after all this time. Yet you still haven't said anything?"

Rogue's blush turned to a brighter pink, the teen muffling out, "I'll admit I don't see her as just a close friend. 'Love' is a strong word. I wouldn't go as far as to say that."

"It's not too late, you know. It's not like she hates you or anything. This country isn't that big, so finding her should be a breeze. Especially with a dragon's nose."

Rogue silently agreed with Wendy. At that moment, he made his decision. When this was all over, he and Frosch would go searching for Yukino in the country. No matter how long it took, he would find her.

More silent moments passed between the two before Rogue decided to turn the discussion around.

"I could say the same about you."

"Eh?" Wendy blinked, confused at his declaration. Rogue lifted his head, looking at the girl with a smug grin on his face.

"You know I'm not stupid, right?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Wendy innocently held her hands up, making Rogue spell it out for her.

"You and Sting."

Wendy immediately turned a bright red, "W-what's that supposed to mean?!"

"Oh, come on, Wendy. 'I've known you for, what, 5 years now?'" he repeated what she said just a few minutes ago, "Don't think I can't tell when 2 of my closest friends have feelings for each other."

"Um…" Wendy trailed off, unable to think of an explanation.

"Tell me, Wendy," Rogue sipped his tea again, "Do you love him?"

'Love' really is a strong word.

"To be completely honest," Wendy sighed, "I don't even know the answer to that question. I mean, I love him as a dear friend, but the love you're referring to...I don't know. There's points in time that he's just my best friend. We tease each other, we laugh together, and we have fun together."

Wendy then gripped her coffee mug tighter, "But there's moments where I question if we're just friends, or something more. He's been there for me, in ways that not even you or Carla have been. He's the one person who can always cheer me up, regardless of the situation. He's the one person who would always, _always_ put my needs over his. He's the best part of my day. The best part of my life. I just can't tell if that's because I love him or because he's my best friend."

Rogue gave a soft smile, placing his hand on her shoulder assuringly, "Can you see yourself with him? As more than friends?"

Wendy remained silent, thinking about a future with Sting. Could they really be a couple? Will their friendship remain intact if their relationship would go down?

"I can see it," Wendy nodded, "But I can also see the risks. What if we break up? How will our friendship-"

"I'm going to stop you right there," Rogue interrupted quickly, "Before you say the _cheesiest_ excuse used in literally every romance movie I've seen."

"You've seen romance movies…?" Wendy asked out of shock, but her question was ultimately disregarded.

"Just go for it. He feels the same way about you anyways." Rogue told the girl.

"I'm not to sure about that. I don't know if you've noticed, but we've recently been disagreeing over our...views on things."

"I've noticed," he then shrugged, "But that's just the stress of the Games getting to your heads. For you, Fairy Tail's back, and for Sting, Master's been up his ass."

"So you're saying everything will go back to normal after the Games?"

"That's up to you two to decide," Rogue responded, "Depends on your view of 'normal'."

Wendy sat back in her seat. Maybe Rogue was right. This year's Games are just extra stressful. Maybe Sting said those things about Yukino because he was afraid that Jiemma was listening to their conversation. Maybe, if they win, Master will stop getting in Sting's head.

More silence passed between the two, both quietly sipping their drinks.

"Oh God…" Wendy whispered, eyes widening as she turned to Rogue.

"What?" the teen worriedly asked.

"This is probably the cheesiest conversation I've ever had."

Rogue took a moment to process what she said before the two smiled.

"I can say something to make it cheesier," Rogue gave another smug grin on his face.

Wendy nodded for him to do it.

"Sting's the sun in your sky."

Wendy stared at him for a good 2 seconds before laughing, "That was so cringey!"

The two comrades laughed together, alone in the lobby. What started as complete, brooding silence between them turned into the same laughter they used to share together all the time all those years ago.

Little did the two know, however, that another person was listening to their conversation. From the top floor of the building, a certain blonde teenager was sitting on his bed, next to his sleeping Exceed partner. With ears as good as a dragon's, he heard the entire conversation between his two closest comrades.

' _Wendy…'_ his thoughts trailed off as he sat on the bed, absolutely speechless.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, the fourth day of the Grand Magic Games is about to begin!" Chapati Lola yelled into his mic with absolute excitement in his voice, "No one is safe! Today is the last day for everyone to prove they're worth being on top! Which guild will be the one going into day 5 with the lead? And which guild will have the most work to do to win?"

The crowd was roaring at the highest volume yet. Flags of all 4 remaining guilds were being waved rapidly. The fan base for the four guilds seemed about equal. No guild gained the majority of the popularity.

Gray Fullbuster of Fairy Tail made his return to the team today, replacing Laxus. As for Lamia Scale, they put in Sherry Blendy as a replacement to Yuka following his absolute annihilation from Minerva. Everyone else remained the same.

"As you all can see, today's competition event is about to begin! The four competitors for today's event 'Naval Battle' are: Sherria Blendy from Lamia Scale, Risley Law from Mermaid Heel, Lucy Heartfilia from Fairy Tail, and Minerva Orlando from Sabertooth!"

As if on cue, the four ladies walked toward the center of the arena, where Mato stood, waiting for them.

"Alright, ladies," Mato greeted, "Today's battle is called the Naval Battle because it's a battle in water-kabo." Each of the girls were handed swimsuits from one of the arena employees. "If you exit the water at any time, you're out-kabo."

The pumpkin-headed mascot clicked a button, showing the scoreboard of the Games so far. "Last place gets 0 points, 3rd place gets 2 points, 2nd place gets 4 points, and 1st gets a whopping 10 points!"

Everyone in the stadium let out an 'Ooh' in eagerness for the battle.

"Everyone get dressed and meet back out here in five minutes-kabo!"

* * *

"Rogue-sama," Yukino stepped onto the highest balcony of the stadium, joining Future Rogue, Hisui, and Hisui's guard, Arcadios. "Do you know how this event ends?"

Future Rogue nodded, "This is going to be an unforgettable one."

Yukino gave a rather worried look toward the 4 participants.

' _Lucy-sama...Minerva-sama…'_

* * *

"Wendy, find anything?" Sting quietly whispered under his breath, making his voice quiet enough so only ones with the ears of a dragon can hear if they tried hard enough.

"No," Wendy shook her head from across the arena, speaking at the same volume as him, "This arena is heavily guarded. I can't get into many of the rooms here. Whatever Jellal's been sensing, I can't sense it."

"Frosch and I found nothing either," Rogue entered the conversation from another area of the arena.

"Alright. The event's about to start anyways. Head back." Sting instructed, beginning to walk back toward Sabertooth's balcony.

Wendy nodded and began to head back as well.

"Go back to your seat, Frosch," Rogue instructed his Exceed companion, "Just remember: Turn left once you exit the tunnel and Lector will be waiting for you there." He reminded his partner, who seemed to have little sense of direction.

"Okay, Rogue!" Frosch innocently smiled, hopping off in the direction Rogue told him to.

Rogue smiled and turned to walk his own direction toward the team's balcony.

Suddenly, he stopped walking and stood up straight. His body stiffened, his skin went cold.

' _This scent…'_ he thought to himself.

It was no doubt Yukino's scent. He could recognize it from miles away.

' _What is she doing here…? Or is her smell just still lingering…?'_

"Rogue, let's go!" Sting's voice could be heard by the shadow wizard's ears, prompting him to shake off his thoughts and run toward the balcony.

* * *

The four girls all made their way into the sphere of water in the center of the arena. They quickly separated themselves, claiming a small section of the sphere as their own.

"When it comes down to two people, a special rule will come into play-kabo."

Sherria was the first to attack, yelling out a God Slayer spell to try and blow all her opponents out of the way. As a result, Lucy summoned Aquarius to fight off the attack, while Risley and Minerva blocked themselves.

"Aquarius, wipe them all out!" Lucy instructed her most aggressive spirit.

Aquarius gave a roll of the eyes before swiftly doing as told. She took control of all the water inside the sphere itself.

Letting out a roar, the mermaid caused the water to move toward all three opponents in an effort to forcefully remove them.

Both Risley and Sherria were pushed to the edge of the sphere while Minerva simply teleported the attack away.

"Get ready for some revenge, blondie!" Risley yelled out, using her gravity magic to make herself a lot slimmer. She practically flew straight to Lucy, but Aquarius simply pushed more water toward the girl.

Sherria looked over to the young woman on her right, giving off the most deadly of looks.

"You're the one who hurt Yuka-san!" she gathered her hands together, "Sky God's Dance!" Two streams of black wind formed and spiraled toward Minerva.

Minerva smirked, activating her Territory magic and teleporting the attack right back at the girl.

Sherria's eyes widened as she was pushed out of the sphere right away.

"And Sherria is the first to fall!" Chapati announced to the crowd.

"You're lucky I didn't use half the amount of force I did on your friend," Minerva's voice rolled smoothly.

Sherria kept glaring at the woman. ' _This is...Wendy-sensei's friend?'_

Almost right after Sherria fell, Risley was pushed out of the sphere by Aquarius's attack. Aquarius then disappeared, claiming she had a date and had to leave Lucy alone.

"And Risley follows shortly after!" Chapati yelled, "With two contestants left, the special rule will come into play for Lucy and Minerva!"

Mato then hopped up on top of a stand with a mic in his hand, announcing, "We're going to add a 5 minute timer onto the event now. And within these 5 minutes, whoever gets out next will get last place instead of 2nd-kabo!"

"That's totally unfair!" Lucy practically shouted, no mic needed to pick up her volume.

"Scared, Fairy?" Minerva grinned, "Well, I'll admit. You should be."

Lucy swallowed down her nervousness and placed her hand on the location of where her keys were.

"Eh? My keys...they're gone!" Lucy noticed out loud. She looked at Minerva, who held the pouch of keys in her hand. "When did you…?"

"What's the matter, Fairy? Aren't you going to fight?" Minerva asked innocently, "Or are you useless without these keys?"

Minerva tossed the keys out the sphere of water, a smug grin glued onto her face as she watched fear grow in Lucy's eyes.

"No...oh no…" Lucy trailed off, "Everyone...I'm sorry…I failed you guys…"

"YOU CAN STILL FIGHT, LUCY!" a voice roared from the crowd. Lucy recognized it immediately and smiled.

"Natsu…"

"YOU'RE STILL STRONG WITHOUT YOUR KEYS! GO GET HER!"

"Arigatou, Natsu," Lucy's eyes filled themselves with determination, "I'll defeat her! I swear on it!"

On the other side of the arena, Wendy gave a small smile.

' _That's the spirit, Lucy-san…'_

* * *

"Why isn't Minerva moving?" Orga asked his teammates, "The 5 minutes are almost up!"

"She's letting her get the full 4 points," Rogue answered.

"But why?"

"It's our lady's way of getting her opponent's hopes up," Sting answered, "Make them seem like they have a chance...make them have hope...and then…"

"Then…?" Orga cluelessly raised an eyebrow.

"Then rip that hope out of their chests and smash it into their face," Wendy finished, pure guilt on her face.

 _"I'll show your former guild what you left them for."_ Minerva's harsh words repeated themselves in Wendy's mind.

' _Please, Minerva-san...don't do this…'_

"The five minutes are up! Looks like one of these girls is taking second place after all," Chapati announced.

"Guess that's my cue," Minerva mumbled, raising her arm as her Territory magic activated once more.

She shot a blast of energy right at Lucy, hitting the girl in the thigh. Lucy screamed in pain as the entire Fairy Tail guild, along with its fan base, gave off worried looks. Many people called out her name, but the girl did not respond.

Minerva shot another blast at Lucy, this time at her shoulder. Lucy let out an even louder scream.

Wendy flinched, jumping right into the arms of the person behind her: Sting. The two locked eyes for a moment before Wendy got out of his hold. She turned back around, hearing the bloodcurdling screams of her once close friend ringing out.

"STOP IT!" Natsu's voice hollered, but was ultimately ignored.

Minerva teleported Lucy's body away from the edge of the ring and to her, kicking her repeatedly.

"This is what you get for even thinking about challenging us! For challenging Sabertooth!"

Wendy wanted to yell out for Minerva to stop, but her voice couldn't meet her mouth. The Sky Sorceress hesitated to stop Minerva. She was Jiemma's daughter, after all. Pissing her off would piss off Jiemma tenfold.

"This is overkill," Rogue mumbled next to Wendy, ' _Maybe Yukino getting out was for the better after all…'_

"This is the power of Sabertooth! This is the power of us tigers!" Minerva cackled as she kept blasting attacks to Lucy, who was nearly unconscious by now. Her blood was slowly tinting the water a dark purple.

* * *

"Princess Hisui, please stop this match!" Yukino begged, "Lucy-sama will die!"

Future Rogue merely nodded at this, thinking, ' _Lucy...Heartfilia. If I convince them to let Minerva continue...maybe-'_

"Stop the match, Arcadios," Hisui instructed the large-nosed knight behind her. Arcadios nodded, waving a flag big enough for Mato to see.

Mato rang the round-ending bell, signalling Minerva to end her vicious actions toward Lucy.

"The referee has sounded the bell! Minerva of Sabertooth wins!" **Sabertooth +10**

"But what of Lucy-chan?" Yajima asked next to Chapati, "Those injuries look quite serious!"

Minerva chuckled as she grabbed Lucy by the head and held her body outside the sphere.

" _This_ is the guild that Wendy chose over you," she looked Team Fairy Tail, mainly Natsu, dead in the eye. She then released hold of Lucy, allowing gravity to take over Lucy's fate.

"LUCY!" All five members of team Fairy Tail yelled out. Each one of them ran off the balcony, with Natsu and Gray being the ones quick enough to catch her.

"Lucy! Hang in there!" Gray yelled out, gently moving the girl's limp body so that it stayed on its back.

"Don't worry, ol' Porlyusica will fix ya right up!" Gajeel assured, a hint of doubt in his voice.

Natsu growled loudly as he glared at Minerva, "You bitch…"

"Oh? I was just returning the favor, Salamander. You hurt many of my guildmates. All the pain they felt from you was simply transferred onto your precious blondie's body. Guess you can say that _you're_ the one to blame here."

Natsu's eyes widened only slightly, the boy silently taking partial blame for Lucy's current condition. However, his death glare at Minerva remained unwavered. His fists ignited in flame as the entire crowd began to rile up. The word 'Fight!' was chanted over and over.

"Natsu," Erza's voice tried to calm the teen down, "Her life is in danger. Can you run her to Porlyusica?"

"Wait!" another voice shouted out. Everyone stared at the owner of the voice, who was none other than Sherria Blendy. "I can try to heal some of her wounds!"

"Sherria…" Wendy trailed off in shock. She clenched her teeth in frustration.

' _I wanna help...I really want to help! Lucy-san...Why does Master have to be so strict?!'_

"Arigatou!" Gray thanked her.

Sherria performed her healing spell on Lucy, but, alas, it seemed to have no effect whatsoever.

"It seems that the wounds she suffered are too severe. We need more powerful magic." Sherria explained. She then turned her head, meeting the eyes of her blue-haired idol that was standing with her guildmates.

"Wendy-sensei! Please!" Sherria yelled, "She was your comrade, wasn't she!?"

And at that moment, Wendy forgot every single moral that Jiemma tried to shove in her head these past 5 years. She forgot how strict he was. She forgot how if someone pissed him off just the slightest bit, they would be a goner from the guild.

She forgot how much she feared Jiemma.

All she could think of at that moment was what the guild from 7 years ago taught her about comrades.

And Wendy hopped off the balcony, ignoring the shouts from her comrades, and ran to Lucy.

* * *

 **A/N: God dammit Minerva...as bitchy as always.** **I forgot how much I hated her in this arc.**

 **And Wendy! Jiemma isn't going to take that likely, you know!**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading! Please please please leave a review! I know that sounds kind of desperate, but reviews really do help us authors! We want to get better! We go by a cycle: We post a chapter, we read reviews, we use those reviews to write an even better chapter next time, and then we repeat! That's the only way we can get better. So please, _leave a review_. Not just for this story. For all stories you read. I know many authors with these same issues.**

 **The biggest battle of this story is only a few chapters away! I'm so excited! Let me tell you, it definitely isn't going in the way you expect it to go! *wink***

 **Wow these author's notes get really long sometimes. But thanks for reading it all the way through! When you leave a review, add ":$" to the end of it so I know that you read these! I'm just curious.**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters**


	18. The Prelude to the Battle

**A/N: The chapter before the big battle! This one's a bit on the shorter side (around 2.6k words) but that's because this is just build up to the next chapters (I'm planning on having the battle take place over 2-3 chapters).**

 **Thanks to everyone who left reviews! They really inspired me to write more because it made me feel that a lot of people were reading this and enjoying it :D**

 **This was a fun chapter to write. Really got me hyped for the next chapter.**

 **Onto the chapter!**

* * *

The entire arena was silent, all of the people inside full of shock for 2 reasons: One, that Lucy was on the verge of death, and the other being that someone from Sabertooth, albeit being Lucy's former comrade, was actually helping her from not dying.

Wendy's hands were shaking from all the adrenaline pumping in her. She hadn't even taken a second to take in everything she was risking with a move like this.

Both Wendy and Sherria's hands began to glow as they combined their healing spells. Everyone in the stands sat at the edge of their seats as they watched Lucy's healing process.

"Lucy…" Natsu trailed off the girl's name quietly, worry in his voice.

After a few long seconds, Wendy looked up at Natsu.

"Her life is no longer in danger," Wendy assured her former comrades. A wave of relief spread all over the arena. Both Wendy and Sherria lifted their hands off of Lucy, where the severe wounds from Minerva's brutal beating seemed to have lightened into scratches and bruises.

"Wendy, thank you," Natsu looked at the girl as she got up. Wendy then looked back into his eyes, seeing the anger and stress that was oozing out of them.

"Natsu-san...what Minerva-san did-"

"I know," he then grabbed her shoulder, looking up at Minerva, who was standing just a few feet behind the group that surrounded Lucy. "Sorry Wendy, but I'm going to make your comrades pay."

Wendy nervously looked at her comrades. The rest of her teammates had joined in the center of the arena. All of them gave her a rather cold stare, except for Rogue, who was just looking away.

"G-guys," Wendy defensively held her hands up as she began to sweat nervously, saying, "Lucy-san is my friend. She's like a sister to me and she needed my help."

Orga and Minerva had a hint of anger in their looks when she looked at them. However, Rogue seemed unbothered by this, as if expecting this to happen. Sting, on the other hand, had a look full of shock.

' _Baka...Do you want to go through what Yukino went through!? Or worse…'_ he thought to himself. He looked down at the ground, his eyebrow twitching as he comprehended what Wendy just did. ' _Just what's going through your mind?! You know Master...he'll…he'll never let this slide...'_

"Well this got really interesting," Minerva chuckled before giving a hard glare toward the bluenette in front of her, "Wendy, I think it's time for you to return to your team. Your guild."

"Shut up!" Natsu yelled out at the woman, "No one gives a rat's ass about what you think!"

"Oi! You want a piece of us?!" Orga yelled at the flame wizard.

"Don't test me, you Laxus wannabe!"

Orga was taken aback by the comeback Natsu had for him. He then gritted his teeth as his black lightning began to surround him. "Come, flame thrower!"

Natsu was more than happy to oblige. Fueled by nothing but rage, it was as if every single part of his body was ignited. Fire surrounded his arms as his face went dark.

"You guys really like pissing us off," Natsu growled. He took a step forward to take up Orga's offer, but a hand grabbed his shoulder.

"Stop," Erza's voice softly commanded behind him as her grasp on his shoulder tightened, "Now's not the time to fight."

Natsu hesitated to listen to the woman for a second, but eventually stepped down.

Erza took a few steps toward Team Sabertooth, with Wendy quickly following, the Sky Dragon awkwardly rejoining them.

"I don't care if you guys are the number one guild. I don't even care about becoming the number one guild anymore." Erza revealed her darkened face to the group, causing all of them to get a little scared by it, "You hurt one of my comrades. And for that, you'll pay the ultimate price."

Erza's voice then suddenly got quieter as she muttered, "You've pissed off the one guild you don't _ever_ want to piss off."

"You want a piece of the Triple Dragons, Sabertooth's strongest team?" Sting smirked, internally wiping away all of the fear that Wendy's actions created in him, "It's a 3-on-3 battle later, right? Come get us."

Wendy gave off a look full of regret as she realized that she had to participate later that day. Jiemma ordered the Triple Dragons to do the battle that morning. But, with _this_ happening, would he let her? She just revealed to all of Fiore that she still cares about her former guild, something that Jiemma tried so hard to keep the world from knowing.

Natsu glared at Sting, "Oi, leave Wendy out of this-"

"C'mon, Salamander," Gajeel smirked, interrupting the boy, "Now's our time to show them what we're capable of. You, me, and the lightning rod."

At that, Laxus gave a smirk in the stands. With Lucy out, he was going to go back into the Games. The plan was originally Gray, Natsu, and Gajeel, but with Laxus being the third Dragon Slayer of the guild, this was a fitting situation.

"Yeah," Natsu nodded, picking up Lucy and placing her on the stretcher before walking back to the balcony with his team.

Team Sabertooth did the same, beginning to walk back to their balcony on the other side of the arena.

As they got back to their area, another person joined them. It was none other than Rufus Lore, the memory mage of the guild.

"Wendy, I'm sure you were expecting this already," he began, a look of guilt in his face, "But Master requests you see him at the inn. Immediately."

Wendy gulped, beginning to imagine the possible scenarios that were going to occur to her.

Sting and Rogue immediately began to follow, but Rufus held a hand up to stop them.

"If I recall correctly, he wanted her alone."

"Wendy…" Sting softly called out her name.

Wendy flashed a smile that had fakeness written all over it, "Don't worry! I'll be back soon!"

* * *

Jiemma was beyond furious. He was beyond fuming. Any word that could describe anger, he was beyond.

He sat alone in the inn, a smashed vision lacrima scattered next to him, having been hit off the stand it was on.

He noticed two shadows begin to crawl into the doorway, one housing a large hat and the other housing a ponytail. The shadows were then accompanied by their owners, Wendy and Rufus.

Wendy wasn't even trying to hide the fear in her face. She was shaking and sweating from nervousness as she stumbled into the lobby.

Rufus, on the other hand, would not release the guilt that was on his face.

The two bowed in front of Jiemma, waiting for him to tell them to get up. Jiemma glared for a few long seconds before commanding, "Rise."

The two did as told, Wendy being the slower out of the two. She could already feel tears form under her eyes, but she willed all of her strength to hold them back.

"Wendy Marvell," he spat out her name in pure annoyance, "Wendy. Fucking. Marvell."

"M-master-"

Wendy was immediately greeted with a smack to the face, its abundant amount of force nearly making her fall to the ground.

"Who told you that you could speak, trash?" Jiemma's voice boomed.

Rufus turned his head away from the two as Jiemma began to pace around the room.

"You had one job, Wendy. Don't care about your former guild. That was your job. And it's an easy one," he clenched his fists, "So how did you fail that easy job?!"

Wendy remained silent, unsure if she could speak now.

"Speak, trash!"

The girl flinched at his massive volume, "U-uh…"

"Spare me the stutters and fillers! Just answer the question! Doing that is easier than the job itself!"

"I wasn't going to help her," Wendy cried out, "B-but her life was in danger! I can't let anyone, regardless if they're a comrade or not, die like that! Especially in something as little as these Games!"

Jiemma rolled his eyes at her answer. "All that crap that Makarov has buried in your mind is still there, huh?" He took a few more steps around before saying, "Tell me: What if Sabertooth?"

Wendy answered immediately, "T-to make the heavens roar. The earth boil. The seas silent. That is Sabertooth."

Jiemma then stomped his foot, creating a small crater in the ground and screaming out, "And did your little healing session with that Fairy whore make any of that happen?!"

"N-no..."

"Now do you see how idiotic and stupid your actions were!?"

"Master, you know how much I love this guild! Please...please don't kick me out!" Wendy begged.

"Begging isn't going to get you anywhere," Jiemma turned to face her, stepping in front of her, "And I'm not kicking you out. You're still fighting the battle later today."

Relief filled the girl's face as she thanked the man.

"However," he motioned for Rufus to come to him, "I can't have you going into that fight with this...mindset of yours."

Wendy gave a look of confusion as Rufus looked her in the eyes, the guilt in them growing ever so largely.

"...eh?"

* * *

"And in the battle of Lamia Scale vs Mermaid Heel, it turns out to be a draw!" Chapati's voice hollered, "Even though Lamia's Sherry and Sherria were taken out, along with Mermaid's Milianna and Araña, Lyon and Kagura both fought until time expired!"

"It was a good one to watch. Moving onto the next event, I overheard that the next battle will not have a time limit," Yajima commented next to him, "There's been a petition going around all day. It got over 4000 signatures. No one wants a draw between Sabertooth and Fairy Tail."

"I, for one, don't want a draw between them either!" Chapati agreed, "Do you think the Games officials will allow it?"

"Most likely," Yajima nodded, "I doubt anyone wants a draw."

"Well, moving on from that topic, please look at the scoreboard!"

 **Sabertooth: 48 pts**

 **Fairy Tail: 41 pts (Tied)**

 **Mermaid Heel: 41 pts (Tied)**

 **Lamia Scale: 40 pts**

"They haven't even started their battle, but Sabertooth in enjoying a healthy lead right now!"

"I wouldn't look down on the Fairies," Yajima gave a smile at his former guild, "A win from them would bring them in the lead."

"Well, everyone, the Games will take a small intermission to repair the arena for the next battle. Please stay patient with us for this time period!"

The crowd began to mind its own business as the two remaining teams prepared themselves for the next battle.

In the balcony of team Fairy Tail, the three Dragon Slayers stood ever so tall. With Natsu in the center, the three had looks of both seriousness and confidence.

"Oi, Laxus," Natsu turned to the man, "Don't steal all the fun today."

Laxus gave a small smirk, "You're one to talk, Natsu," he then folded his arms as he looked at both Natsu and Gajeel, "This is your guys' fight today, not mine. I'll fight, but don't expect me to give my all."

"Don't go slacking, lightning rod!" Gajeel yelled at the man, "If we lose because of you-"

"We're not losing," Natsu interrupted, total seriousness in his voice, "Not after what that woman did to Lucy."

Over in Sabertooth's balcony, Sting and Rogue were both standing next to each other, their worried looks apparent to everyone who looked at them.

"She'll be back...right?" Sting asked his comrade, with his voice full of uncertainty.

"Y-yeah…she's gotta be…" Rogue replied quietly.

"If not," Orga's voice joined the conversation from behind the two, "I want in. I want to fight Laxus."

"That won't be needed," a new voice approached, causing everyone to turn around. The first person to react was Minerva, who gave a sly grin at the sight of the person in front of the group.

It was Wendy. But, it wasn't _quite_ Wendy.

She had a completely different look from when she left the balcony just about 20 minutes ago. Not only did she _look_ different (she changed into her dark red leather jacket), she _acted_ different. Her stance was much more upright, confidence radiating off of it. The way she was walking was less proper and had more arrogance in it. Even the tone in her voice was deeper.

But the biggest change was her eyes.

Sting noticed it right off the bat. Her big brown eyes that were once full of warmth were now darker and hardened.

* * *

"This must be weird for you, Rogue-sama," Yukino spoke to the man as she stood at the highest balcony in the arena, "Watching yourself fight."

"It's interesting, to say the least."

"Will Lucy-sama make a full recovery?"

Future Rogue stood up, walking to the girl behind him.

"She will. But, if the future pans out like it did for me 7 years ago, then it wouldn't be worth it."

"Rogue-sama...just what happened? To Sting-sama? To Wendy-sama? To…" she looked him in the eye, "...me?"

Future Rogue looked down in pure guilt, "I couldn't do anything to save you guys…"

"Rogue-sama…" Yukino trailed off as she saw a tear roll down from his single eye.

"I never got to tell you…"

"Eh?"

"...how I felt…"

Yukino's eyes widened as she realized what he was saying. How he felt? Did that mean that, in their current time period...the Rogue that Yukino knows now, has feelings for her?

Future Rogue wiped away his tear and looked at the girl in determination.

"That is why I need your help with the Eclipse Gate. I need all of the 12 gates' magic to change this world's fate. To protect its future."

Yukino smiled the same smile that made Rogue's heart flutter and assured, "I promise I'll get the other 10 keys and help you protect this world." She then got on her tippy toes and gave him a peck on the cheek, whispering, "Thank you for everything you're doing, Rogue-sama…"

Future Rogue only smiled and the two went back to watching the Games unfold.

' _I've got you wrapped around my finger, Yukino…'_ Future Rogue thought, an evil grin forming on his face, ' _Soon, this world will soon be mine.'_

* * *

"Say, Wendy," Sting turned to her as the Triple Dragons made their way down the tunnel and to the center of the arena, "You feeling okay? Did Master say anything to you?"

"Huh? Nothing important. He just wished me good luck," Wendy turned to Sting with a confused look on her face, "Why?"

Both Sting and Rogue gave each other a rather concerning look before looking back at her.

"I-it's nothing…" Sting nervously replied, ' _Just what happened over there?'_

"Anyways, we should probably figure out a gameplan," Wendy brushed off Sting's question, "Rogue, you can take the scrap metal guy. Sting, you can take your precious pinkette. I'll take Mr. Dragon Slayer Wannabe, and-"

"Hold up," Rogue interrupted as the three all stopped walking, "What's with the rude nicknames for them?"

Sting nodded in agreement, "Yeah; What's going on, Wendy?"

"I don't know what you guys are talking about," she shrugged before beginning to walk again. Wendy then punched her fist into her palm as a small gust of wind came out from the action.

"I just want to beat the crap out of that trash excuse of a guild."

* * *

 **A/N: WAH? Wendy, what? What is this? 'Trash excuse of a guild'? Are you okay?**

 **Well, I think it's pretty obvious XD (EDIT: yes, after rereading it I realized it was pretty obvious. Sorry for making it seem like I was treating you guys like idiots because I love you all :/. My first draft made it more confusing...lol)**

 **And thus, the first plot twist occurs: Jiemma's plan!**

 **So, here's a summary:**

 **1: Lucy's okay! And Natsu's angry (and roasting Orga). And I had an excuse to write some NaLu in.**

 **2: Future Rogue is deceiving Yukino! (No surprise knowing what happens in canon) That Future Rokino peck on the cheek tho**

 **3: Wendy's personality and actions took a complete 180.**

 **4: The Battle of the 6 Dragon Slayers is about to commence! (Poor Cobra. Always being left out) Hmm seems there's not going to be a draw on this one since the time limit looks like it'll be taken out. (I'm officially calling this battle: Battle of the Six)**

 **Yet another long author's note. When you review, add ";]" at the end so I know you read this all the way through!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters**


	19. Battle of the Six Part 1 - Memories

**A/N: Allllrighttttt! It's time for _the_ battle of the story (so far)!**

 **Last chapter got so many reviews! It really pushed me to get this one out for you guys. Thank you all for the support!**

 **This chapter is pretty much pure fighting. That being said, it may be hard to follow. I bolded the spells to make it a little clearer, but if it is confusing for you, please let me know! I'm not used to writing fight scenes.**

 **QOTD: How long do you guys want this fight? 3 chapters? 4 chapters? Each will likely be the length of this chapter or less. I don't want to drag this too long.**

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"I just want to beat the crap out of that trash excuse of a guild."

Sting and Rogue stopped in their tracks as Wendy kept walking forward to the center of the arena.

"Rogue," Sting whispered in his quietest volume possible, "What do we do? She's acting completely different from her usual self."

"I don't know," Rogue mumbled back. ' _What did Jiemma say to you…?'_

Both boys contemplated in their heads on what to do next, standing in the middle of the tunnel as Wendy didn't even realize they stopped.

"Oh, don't mind her actions," a new voice entered the tunnel. Both Sting and Rogue's heads turned up to see Rufus Lore approaching them. Behind him, the two saw that Wendy was still walking toward the tunnel's exit, now many meters ahead of them. "Wendy's just acting like this because of Master."

"What are you going on about, Rufus?" Sting asked, crossing his arms in a rather interrogative way.

"Master said some rather harsh words to her," Rufus answered, "He's watching over every move she makes. Any sign of her caring for her former guild and...well, I think you can guess from there."

Rufus then continued walking toward the balcony that led to the rest of Team Sabertooth. Being their reserve member, he's allowed up there, he just hadn't gone up there until now.

Both Sting and Rogue shared a look at each other, nodding at Rufus' claim. They both went to catch up to Wendy, now ready to give their all in the upcoming battle.

* * *

In the arena, the fans were cheering at the top of their lungs. Flags of Sabertooth and Fairy Tail were waving everywhere. Both of the guilds were watching, tension filling everyone's eyes as the contestants entered the arena.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Chapati's voice boomed in the speakers across the arena, "The dream Dragon Slayer match is only moments away from becoming a reality!"

Cheers somehow became even louder as Chapati continued, "The fight everyone has been waiting for! Dragon Slayers vs. Dragon Slayers! Past vs. Present! Fairy Tail vs. Sabertooth!"

In the side of Sabertooth, Jiemma, who decided to watch this battle in person, sat down in his seat, saying, "Make this victory overwhelming. Show them the strength of the guild at top."

On the other side, where Fairy Tail sat, Makarov looked at his 3 children in the center of the arena. Knowing they were listening, he told them, "Just put all your heart into it. I have nothing else to say."

* * *

Wendy turned to her two comrades, her eyes full of seriousness as she nodded at them, "This is our moment to shine. We have too many reasons to win. We can't lose now." She turned to Sting, telling him, "Sting, you've admired Natsu for so long. You've always wanted to surpass him, and this is your time to do it."

Sting nodded in agreement. "I've been waiting for this day for too long," he smirked, looking straight at the pink-haired boy across from them.

"Rogue, your admiration for Gajeel has haunted you for all this time," Wendy turned to the black-haired mage, "You used to fear him. Now's your chance to finally prove to yourself you have nothing to fear."

"Gajeel…" Rogue trailed off.

* * *

Natsu glanced over at his opponents, looking mainly at Wendy, only to be greeted back with a rather cold glare from the girl. Before he could say or do anything about it, Laxus began to speak.

"You guys heard Gramps," he looked at the two, "Fight with all of your heart's content."

"Yeah," Gajeel nodded, "No slacking today."

Natsu looked at the stands, seeing every guild members' intense emotions in their eyes. He then looked at Team Fairy Tail's balcony, where Erza and Gray stood proudly. Between Erza and Gray, Natsu noticed a gap between them. His mind subconsciously added Lucy into that empty space, imagining her smiling and holding up Fairy Tail's hand symbol.

"For the guild," Laxus said, folding his arms as he and Makarov shared a look.

To that, Natsu added, "For Lucy."

Gajeel smiled widely as his hand formed into a fist, adding his own words to the talk to get his teammates into focus.

"Geehee."

* * *

"Due to popular demand, there is no time limit in this battle-kabo," Mato announced, resulting in the audience cheering even louder.

The two teams met in the middle, hard stares throughout all 6 of the members' eyes.

Sting stood across of Natsu, cracking his knuckles, "I've waited over 7 years for this moment. Let's end this once and for all, Natsu-san."

"I'm all fired up," Natsu responded back, his voice rough.

Gajeel and Rogue stood across from one another, with Rogue simply mumbling Gajeel's name under his breath. Gajeel let out a slightly confused sound.

"What're you doin' saying my name like that? You trying to start something?"

Rogue just looked down, thinking, ' _Then you really don't recognize me…'_

In Gajeel's mind, however, the Iron Dragon Slayer was thinking, ' _Where have I seen you before?'_ Ever since first seeing Rogue just a few days ago, Gajeel's nose found Rogue's scent utterly familiar, but couldn't place his finger on it.

And finally, with Laxus and Wendy, Laxus held out his hand to the girl.

"I've heard a lot about you from the others. Allow me to formally introduce myself. Laxus Dreyar."

Wendy stared at his hand, a look of disgust growing in her face. Laxus slowly pulled his hand back and changed his stare from a rather calm one to a cold and intimidating one.

"Well then, Wendy Marvell, I see how it is," he mumbled as he pulled off his fur coat and tossed it aside.

The arena now got eerily silent, waiting for the match to begin. Fans sat at the edge of their seats as the stare-off between the Fairies and the Tigers continued.

"3 S-Class wizards against 1 S-Class, 1 former S-Class, and 1 regular wizard. On paper, it should be an easy win for Sabertooth, yet this seems like the closest match of the Games this year," Chapati nearly whispered into the mic. only causing tension to rise even higher in the silence.

After what seemed like forever, Mato rang the gong loudly and shouted out, "MATCH: START!"

And thus, the battle of six passionate dragons began. Bounded together by fate, the time has finally come to decide just which generation is stronger.

"Let's go!" Sting yelled to his comrades. Both Wendy and Rogue nodded back.

However, the determination in Sting's voice was immediately countered when the 3 Fairies jumped toward their respective opponents.

In complete sync, Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus all punched their opponents across the face. The Triple Dragons all flew a few feet backwards.

While still in the air, the Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers kicked the Triple Dragons down hard onto the ground.

Sabertooth's members gave off a shocked look while Fairy Tail's members smiled widely.

The beating of the Triple Dragons continued as Gajeel grabbed Rogue, throwing him at Natsu. Natsu took the flying Rogue and bashed him against Sting, yelling out, " **Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"** as he hit them with streams of fire from his hands.

Wendy let out a quiet gasp at this before being hit by a lightning bolt from Laxus. The lightning attack, however, had no effect on her. The girl cracked her knuckles as she smirked at Laxus.

"I'll admit, you guys are strong," Wendy muttered, "Though I expected nothing less." Her body then became outlined in a light green color as she chanted, " **Arms, Armor, Vernier. Enchant!"**

As a result of her enchantment, Sting and Rogue's bodies began to also glow their respective element's colors as their strength, defense, and speed increased greatly.

The Triple Dragons regrouped together, the three of them mimicking the Fairies' stunt earlier by advancing toward the opponents and performing an attack on them.

The Triple Dragons were too fast for the Fairies to react to. Gajeel and Natsu both faced the strong punches of their opponents while Laxus was kicked across the face. The three Fairy Tail members all flew backwards as Sabertooth began to take control of the fight.

" **Sky Dragon's Roar!"** Wendy yelled as she blew the three across the entire battlefield and nearly into the stands.

Wendy wiped her mouth clean and waited for the Fairies to get up. Natsu and Gajeel were the first to rise, brushing off the attack and returning to their battles with Sting and Rogue.

The Sky Maiden waited patiently as she stared at the rubble that had landed on top of Laxus.

"Has Laxus fallen already?!" Chapati announced, in complete shock.

"He was the closest one to the Wendy's attack," Yajima commented back, "But Laxus _is_ an S-Class wizard."

' _It's too early…'_ Wendy's thought to herself as she observed the scene around her.

Suddenly, the sound of thunder booming was heard around the entire arena as Wendy snapped her head toward the sky. Above her, a huge cloud of pure lightning rested itself, growing largely.

The rubble that sat atop of Laxus was pushed off as Laxus rose from the ground. With his fist in the air, he brought it down forcefully. Following his arm's movements, the lightning cloud above Wendy shot down a huge bolt, hitting the ground where Wendy stood with a huge amount of force.

"Wendy!" Sting cried the girl's name out worriedly as he stopped his fight with Natsu. Natsu, too, stopped fighting as he looked at Laxus' attack making contact.

Gajeel and Rogue also ended their fight as the entire arena looked at where Wendy was.

"No way…" Sting whispered.

The place where Wendy once stood was now completely demolished. Laxus managed to create a crater in the floor, disintegrating the ground with his attack.

Wendy was nowhere to be seen. Everyone, even Laxus, was silent as looks of shock grew on everyone's faces.

" **Sky Dragon's Gale Force!"** a voice shouted behind Laxus as the girl that was thought to be disintegrated suddenly appeared behind Laxus, kicking him right in the back with all of her force. Laxus spit out a little blood from the impact as streams of wind pushed him across the entire arena floor.

' _Faster...than my lightning…'_ Laxus's thoughts observed as his body skidded along the dirt.

"Nice one…" Sting smiled in awe as he pieced together Wendy's tactic. Wendy had increased her speed to escape the attack and was running all around the arena at her top speed so that no one would see her. As she generated momentum, everyone thought that she was disintegrated, including Laxus. This gave her the opportunity to hit Laxus from behind and send him flying.

* * *

In the place where Fairy Tail's members stood, they all watched in utter shock as Laxus flew across the arena.

"Just how strong is she?!" Romeo asked, the shock on his face as huge as the ones on everyone else's.

"The girl from 7 years ago can't even hold a candle to this one," Makarov told the rest of the guild, "Though her behavior toward Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus is slightly concerning."

"You're right, Sixth," Mavis nodded at Makarov, "I sense a totally different aura from the last time she was on the stage. On top of her power, I feel a strong emotion emitting off of her as well. It feels like...hatred."

* * *

The fights between Natsu, Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue continued again after Wendy hit Laxus.

On the far side of the arena, closest to Jiemma, Natsu and Sting were battling. In the center was Gajeel and Rogue, and on the side near Fairy Tail, Laxus and Wendy continued their fierce battle.

" **White Dragon's Divine Fist!"**

" **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"**

The two fists clashed, hitting the other head on. The impact from the clash created a ring of light and fire to surround the fists as the two continued to attack one another.

" **White Dragon's Roar!"** Sting yelled as he released his laser from his mouth. Natsu quickly bent backwards to avoid the attack, the roar just mere millimeters from hitting his body.

Natsu then ran toward Sting, grabbing the blonde by the head and yelling, " **Fire Dragon's Grip Strike!"** , hitting Sting with a large amount of fire at point-blank range and burning the blonde. However, with Wendy's enchantment earlier, Sting only received a mere scratch on his face.

"I will surpass you, Natsu-san," Sting smirked at the teen.

"If you're as strong as your words, then bring it," Natsu smirked back.

* * *

" **Shadow Dragon's Slash,"** Rogue chanted, covering his hand in shadows as he launched himself at Gajeel, preparing to punch the teen.

" **Iron Dragon's Sword!"** Gajeel quickly held up his arm, using it as a defense. However, the Rogue in front of him disappeared as Gajeel took a hit from behind.

In the judges' seats, Chapati commentated, "And there's Rogue's signature style! Baiting them one way and using his shadow mode to surprise the enemy from behind!"

Gajeel fell to the ground from Rogue's attack, but quickly got up, yelling, " **Iron Dragon's Lance!"** , summoning multiple lances toward Rogue, hitting the Shadow Dragon and sending him straight toward where Sting and Natsu were fighting.

As Sting blocked a punch from Natsu, Rogue flew straight into Sting, bringing both Dragon Slayers to the wall.

When they got back up, Natsu and Gajeel stood in front of them, more than ready for another go. Sting and Rogue both got up and ran toward their opponents at full speed.

Their top speed, however, was nothing for the 2 Fairies. They both grabbed their opponent and threw them toward the other side of the battlefield, right toward Laxus and Wendy's fight.

* * *

Just like her other two comrades, Wendy was also struggling against her opponent. No matter how much she attacked him, Laxus's powerful attacks were too much for her swift ones.

Laxus mimicked what Gajeel and Natsu did, grabbing Wendy by the head and throwing her across the arena floor, making Wendy crash into Sting and Rogue.

The 3 Fairies regrouped at the center, facing their 3 downed opponents.

"Don't tell me that you guys are all just talk," Natsu told them in a cold, determined tone.

"No," Wendy was the first to rise, her tone as cold as Natsu's, "We haven't even gotten started."

Wendy's body began to glow, swiftly followed by Sting and Rogue's bodies. Their wounds all began to disappear as Wendy healed all 3 of them at the same time.

"That's a new one, Wendy," Natsu acknowledged her healing abilities. Last time she had healed someone, it used up a good amount of her energy. This time, however, Wendy did it with complete ease. On top of that, she was now able to heal her own injuries.

Sting and Rogue stood back up, looking as if they hadn't even started battling yet. Not only were their wounds healed, but their energy as well was replenished.

Wendy nodded at her teammates, cuing them to perform their next move.

" **White Drive."**

" **Shadow Drive."**

" **Sky Drive."**

All three of the Triple Dragons' hair raised from the spell's power as their bodies were outlined in their respective element's color.

"Looks like they're done testing each other," Yajima commentated in the judge's seat above the arena, "Now we'll be able to see everyone's full power."

* * *

In the Fairy Tail stands, Makarov turned to Mavis, asking, "First, what magic is this?"

"It seems like another amplifier of their abilities. On top of Wendy's enchantments, the Triple Dragons also have this to increase their strength."

"So even if Laxus-san, Gajeel-kun, and Natsu-san are all stronger than the Triple Dragons in terms of base strength…" Juvia trailed off behind Makarov.

"...All of their enchantments make them almost stronger than Laxus and the others," Mira finished for the water mage.

"Just how strong are these three...?" Makarov asked in shock.

"I told you, Master," Alzack folded his arms next to Makarov, recalling his words from all those months ago, "Wendy and her comrades aren't ones that we should mess with. There's a reason Sabertooth is this strong."

* * *

The silent face-off continued between the Triple Dragons and the Fairies. An abundance of power was emitting off of the three Sabertooth mages as Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus all waited for their next move.

Wendy leaned over to Sting's ear, whispering something so quiet that not even the other Dragon Slayers in the area's ears could pick up.

"I want Natsu."

While Laxus was fun to fight with, Wendy knew that Natsu was the one to beat in that team, and she wanted to be the one to do it.

Sting nodded his head, advancing toward Laxus at full speed, nearly catching the fellow blonde by surprise at the switch-up. Rogue followed behind, beginning to attack Gajeel once more.

Laxus caught Sting's punch toward him, but the amount of light in Sting's hand caused the lightning mage to lose his sight from the brightness.

Gajeel attempted another attack toward Rogue, but could not manage to grab ahold of him.

"Physical attacks do not work on shadows," Rogue commented before attacking again.

Natsu and Wendy continued to stare each other down as the others engaged into battle again.

"I'm all fired up, Wendy," Natsu gave a small smile to the girl. However, Wendy did not return the smile. She simply held her hands out as a green magic circle appeared underneath her.

" **Ile Arms, Ile Armor, Ile Vernier,"** she chanted, doubling the effects of her enchantments from earlier.

In the stands that seated the guild of Sabertooth, Carla whispered to the Exceeds next to her, "She's really going heavy with the enchantments today."

"Wendy-chan views Natsu-kun as a formidable opponent," Lector replied, "She wants to end him as soon as possible. After all, she's in her must-win pattern."

Back to the arena, Wendy charged at Natsu at full speed. The Fire Dragon lost sight of her, only to be greeted with an elbow to the back.

Natsu cried out in pain from the strength of the girl he was against. Regaining his balance, Natsu shouted, " **Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"**

Wendy easily caught his hand, extinguishing the flames within it. Using his hand, Wendy hurled Natsu up into the air.

" **Sky Dragon's Tornado!"** Wendy yelled, forming a huge tornado underneath Natsu. Natsu was flown even higher into the air as Wendy jumped up, grabbing him by the head and running with him at full speed around the arena.

The entire Fairy Tail guild was looking even more worried than before.

"This is what 7 years of training does…" Happy whispered as he watched in fear at to what Wendy was about to do next to his best friend.

Wendy, with Natsu's head still in her hands, jumped from the ground and into the air. She used the winds in the air to push her upwards, imitating a flying ability. Once she got high enough, Wendy shoved Natsu back onto the ground. Everyone who blinked would have missed the attack that took only a split second to complete with a speed like hers.

"Wendy...you're _really_ serious about this…" Carla whispered in the stands as she saw Natsu hit the ground. Natsu's landing ended up being too strong for the arena's ground, creating a huge crater. Once Natsu hit the ground and was knocked out, Sting took the Fire Dragon Slayer and picked him up, throwing him at Laxus.

Laxus, not wanting to hurt Natsu, caught the boy and placed him on the ground. Laxus then prepared another attack, only to get hit by the speeding Wendy. Once he had gotten hit by Wendy and lost his balance, Sting performed his **White Dragon's Divine Fist** and uppercutted his opponent, knocking him to the ground.

"Salamander! Laxus!" Gajeel yelled as his body was covered in shadows. Rogue attacked Gajeel with the shadows, injuring him badly as Gajeel, too, fell.

"Oh, my! All three Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers are down! This may already be the end of it, folks!" the announcer yelled. Natsu, Gajeel, and Laxus were all on the ground, knocked out.

* * *

"C'mon, Fairy Tail!" one fan in the stands, with a male voice, yelled.

"It's not over yet!" shouted another, this time a female.

"Don't give up!" the last fan screamed, the voice this time sounding like a child.

In the balcony of Team Fairy Tail, Gray and Erza were both on the ledge.

"Oi, Natsu! I know you're not done yet!" Gray yelled at his longtime rival, nearly falling off the ledge from leaning forward so much.

"Same to you, Gajeel and Laxus!" Erza shouted at the other 2 fallen Dragon Slayers.

In the arena, the Triple Dragons all looked unscathed, as if the battle hadn't even been a struggle.

"Not as exciting as I hoped," Wendy shrugged as she landed on the ground. She stared at the three knocked out opponents.

"What you fail to understand, Gajeel, is that the third generation will _always_ be stronger," Rogue declared at his former idol.

"Tigers will _always_ beat Fairies," Sting added.

* * *

Half of the arena erupted in cheers while the other half was completely silent as everyone thought that the Triple Dragons had won the battle.

"In just under 15 minutes," Chapati spoke into his mic, "The Triple Dragons were able to knock out all three of the Fairy Tail Dragons."

Amidst the cheers, a large boom was heard, ringing throughout the entire arena as everyone whipped their heads toward the source of the sound, silencing everyone immediately.

"'Always', eh?" Natsu's voice came out as the pink-haired teen rose onto his feet, "I'll burn that tradition to ashes."

The other half of the crowd, the Fairy Tail fans, all began to cheer extra loudly as the 3 Fairies rose up from the ground.

The first of the Triple Dragons to react was Wendy, who immediately launched herself at Natsu, punching him across the face as the two continued their fight.

"You're quite the fighter now, Wendy," Natsu gave a proud smile at the girl, "I'm impressed."

Ignoring him, Wendy kicked Natsu across the face, her attack quickly countered by a punch from Natsu.

"Why do you even try anymore?" Wendy heartlessly asked the teen, "It's over for you and your trash guild."

Natsu immediately grabbed the hand that Wendy was going to use to punch him, his face now full of anger as his eyes went hard and dark. The smile he had on crumbled away as his entire demeanor changed.

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me," Wendy said with absolutely no hesitation, winds gathering around her as she prepared another attack, "Sabertooth is going to crush tiny bugs like you!"

Natsu, now fueled by rage, ignited his entire body in fire and launched himself at the girl.

"What the hell, Wendy?!" he yelled as he prepared to punch her with full force, "You dare call the guild that took you in 'trash'? The same guild that was there for you after we left? The same guild that treated you like family?!"

Natsu formed a large stream of fire with his right hand as he punched the girl across the face. The force of the fire caused Wendy to fall back a few feet, but the girl easily regained her balance.

Wendy brushed off the specs of dirt that had settled itself onto her outfit. She then took off her leather jacket, revealing the golden Sabertooth mark on her right shoulder. and the white tank top she was wearing that day.

"I have no idea what you're going on about. I've had this mark on me since Cait Shelter left me. To even imply that I was a member of such a pathetic guild is insulting! Why would I ever join _your_ guild? **Sky Dragon's Roar!** " Wendy shouted as she released the attack on Natsu. Natsu, however, was quick to counter with his **Fire Dragon's Roar**.

Members of Fairy Tail and Sabertooth alike all made a confused noise at Wendy's recent statement, many of them exclaiming, "What?!"

* * *

In the balcony of Team Sabertooth, Minerva let out a dark chuckle as she turned to Rufus. "So you actually went along with my father's plan?"

"I...I had no other choice…" Rufus trailed off, pure guilt tainting his tone.

"Don't feel bad, Rufus," the woman assured the teen, "You know it had to be done."

"What are you two talking about?" Orga asked, confused.

"Rufus here rearranged Wendy's...mindset," Minerva answered the lightning mage's question.

"You toyed with her memories, eh?" Orga looked at his close friend, "How much of it did you mess up?"

"Master wanted to make sure that her mind wouldn't create any…'complications'. So I had to made sure that her self-healing ability wouldn't interfere with my objective."

"Oh?" Minerva's voice hummed as one of her eyebrows arched in interest.

Rufus turned to face the arena, looking straight at Wendy, who was exchanging attacks with Natsu that caused explosions and strong winds in their area.

"I made sure that there was absolutely _no_ returning from this point. I made sure that what I did to her is _permanent_."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading!**

 **Quick recap:**

 **-Rufus lied to Sting and Rogue, telling them that Jiemma threatened Wendy. But, in reality, Rufus messed with her memories, making her hate Fairy Tail. More details about this will be provided next chapter.**

 **-The two sides are pretty equal right now in terms of strength. This is due to Wendy's enchantments (her magic power is high enough to keep these enchantments going the entire battle. That's what 7 years of training does to a wizard :p)**

 **-Gajeel and Rogue's connection is mentioned: Will Gajeel realize Rogue's reason for wanting to defeat him?**

 **In regards to Laxus, I am aware of how powerful he is. I'm not trying to weaken him so much, but don't expect Laxus to electrocute the Triple Dragons all at one time (which he would probably do to the Twin Dragons in canon lol). More details later.**

 **To be continued in Battle of the Six Part 2! Until then!**

 **P.S. I've decided to make this a tradition: Add ";{" to the end of your review so I know that you actually read these author's notes :). Also, tell me how long you want this fight to be! I'm debating between 3 or 4 chapters. Too much? Too little? Help me out here! I like interactive stories, and I want to involve you guys more!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail of its characters**


	20. Battle of the Six Part 2 - Third Gen

Before the Battle - Crocus Gardens (Sabertooth's Inn)

"Master, you know how much I love this guild! Please...please don't kick me out!" Wendy begged. After healing Lucy following Minerva's brutal beating, Jiemma was infuriated with the girl, for her actions broke pretty much every rule of conduct Jiemma taught Sabertooth.

"Begging isn't going to get you anywhere," Jiemma turned to face her, stepping in front of her, "And I'm not kicking you out. You're still fighting the battle later today."

Relief filled the girl's face as she thanked the man.

"However," he motioned for Rufus to come to him, "I can't have you going into that fight with this...mindset of yours."

Wendy gave a look of confusion as Rufus looked her in the eyes, the guilt in them growing ever so largely.

"...eh?"

"Tell me, Wendy, do you want the guild to win?"

"O-of course! I'd do anything for the guild to win!" she assured, still sweating profusely from her fear of the master.

"Good," he turned to Rufus, asking the boy, "Do you remember what I told you, Rufus?"

"I'd...I'd never forget," the memory mage responded.

" _If she gets too weak, change her memories. Make her hate Fairy Tail."_ Jiemma's words repeated themselves to Rufus.

"What's going on?" Wendy asked, worry filling her voice.

Rufus forcefully grabbed onto Wendy's wrist. The girl quickly tried to stop him, using her free arm to blow wind at the teen. However, Rufus only grabbed that same wrist, stopping her from attacking him anymore.

"Wendy...please, forgive me…" Rufus murmured to the girl, a single tear falling from his eye.

"Do it," Jiemma ordered, "Before she attacks again."

Rufus obliged, channeling his memory magic from within as his eyes began to glow a bright gold.

"N-no, Rufus! Sto-" Before Wendy could finish, her eyes turned the same color as Rufus's as her memories became under his control.

" **Memory-Make: Alteration."**

Rufus began to delve into Wendy's precious memories, going back all the way to the time that she was with Grandeeney.

"Make her hate them from the beginning. Whenever she hears of Natsu Dragneel or Fairy Tail itself, make her hate them. Absolute rage should fill her veins at even the sound of their name." Jiemma instructed the teen.

Rufus nodded, searching for the memory Jiemma was talking about. He soon found one, the memory going back to Wendy's days in Cait Shelter.

Rufus swiftly changed her memory of being fascinated over Natsu and Fairy Tail to not liking them.

The next memory Rufus searched for was the battle with Oración Seis, where she first met Fairy Tail, changing it so that she met Sabertooth there instead.

When Cait Shelter was revealed to be a big illusion, Rufus made it so that Sting and Rogue were the ones to bring her in. Even if they weren't actually in Sabertooth until X786, Rufus was still able to trick Wendy's mind into thinking that they were.

After many minutes of switching around her memories, Rufus eased his grasp off of Wendy. The girl began to lose balance and consciousness, but Rufus caught her and slowly brought her to the couch.

"Is it done?" Jiemma asked, getting a nod from Rufus in response.

Wendy then soon woke up, sitting up from the couch as she looked at her surroundings.

"What happened?!"

"You passed out," Rufus swiftly thought of a lie, "Probably from standing up all day."

"Is the battle over?! Was I out for all of it?!"

"It's going to start in a few minutes," Rufus answered. Wendy then quickly got up from her seat, grabbing her leather jacket on the couch and running toward the door.

"Wait," Jiemma's voice boomed, causing Wendy to turn around and look at him.

He asked, "Are you ready to defeat Fairy Tail?"

Wendy scoffed, "I've been ready to defeat those losers since they got here!"

Jiemma cracked an evil smile, "Good. I wish you luck."

* * *

Back to the Battle

"I have no idea what you're going on about," Wendy looked at Natsu, who had just yelled at her for her harsh words about Fairy Tail. The girl pointed at the golden mark on her right shoulder, "I've had this mark on me since Cait Shelter left me. To even imply that I was a member of such a pathetic guild is insulting! Why would I ever join _your_ guild?"

Natsu was absolutely speechless, both angry and shocked at her words.

" **Sky Dragon's Roar!"** Wendy shouted, releasing the huge tornado from her mouth.

" **Fire Dragon's Roar!"** Natsu countered, cancelling out her winds.

Wendy leaped up into the air, using her speed to grab Natsu, however, Natsu easily dodged her despite her quickness.

"Don't think you can use the same tricks over and over on Fairy Tail," Natsu muttered, "But you should know that, considering your past."

Wendy gasped as a huge stream of fire came flying at her at high speed, just barely able to jump up in time to avoid getting hit.

In the seats of Fairy Tail, everyone was going crazy at Wendy's claim. They were all squeezed onto the ledge as they all tried to make sure they had heard Wendy right.

"What the hell is going on down there?"

"I heard her say something about never being a member of Fairy Tail."

"What?!"

Makarov crossed his arms as he glared at the Sabertooth master.

"Jiemma...what did you do to her?" he asked, even though he knew that Jiemma couldn't hear him.

"Sixth, mind manipulation isn't necessarily against the rules because such a topic was never expressed in the rule book," Mavis told the master, "But we can't do anything to her now. Interfering in the middle of the match will get us disqualified I believe."

Makarov let out a rough sound from his throat as he contemplated what to do next.

* * *

On the other side of the stadium, Carla, in her human form, was flying through the arena's tunnels, heading straight toward the balcony that Team Sabertooth was on.

In the middle of her flight, Carla suddenly stopped as the girl went to the ground.

All she could see in her vision was a figure in the middle of the arena, the dust too big to make out who it was.

However, Carla could make out what was next to a figure. A large pool of a deep red liquid covered the ground, with another unknown figure lying on the ground next to it.

' _Oh no...Wendy…'_ was all that Carla's thoughts could say.

* * *

" **Iron Dragon's Lance!"**

" **Shadow Dragon's Roar!"**

Shadows and iron shavings were thrown across each other as Rogue and Gajeel continued their battle together.

"Oi," Gajeel began to speak as he created a shield out of iron to block the breath attack, "What the hell are our guilds yappin' about?"

"I don't know," Rogue answered honestly, becoming a shadow and going behind Gajeel to try and kick the teen in the back, "And I don't care."

"Sounds like it's about Wendy," Gajeel grabbed Rogue's foot forcefully, causing him to let out a sound as Gajeel prepared to throw him, "She's your comrade, ain't she?"

"Stop talking and focus on the fight," Rogue said as he returned to his shadow form and escaped Gajeel's grip.

Gajeel paused at Rogue's words, his eyes slightly widening.

' _That used to be my line…'_ his thoughts trailed off, ' _Just who are you?'_

Before he could think, Rogue came at him again with another attack. However, Gajeel was already used to the shadow attacks by now, quickly punching Rogue to the ground and beginning to attack once again.

* * *

Sting and Laxus continued their fierce showdown as thunder boomed loudly and bright, white light shined around the arena.

"Let's finish this quickly," Sting stated, gathering a lot of light in his hands and aiming it at Laxus, " **White Dragon's Claw!"**

Sting shot the light straight at Laxus, hitting the man right in the abdomen as a hole in his shirt formed. Right where the hole was formed, a white stigmata placed itself onto Laxus.

" **Lightning Dragon's-"**

Laxus's eyes widened as his eyes looked down at his body, which didn't move a single inch. "I...can't move.."

"Then you're wide open," Sting smiled as he sucked in his breath.

" **White Dragon's Roar!"**

Sting's laser shot right at Laxus, hitting the immobile man right in the chest as he screamed in pain.

"Laxus!" Natsu yelled out as the man's scream echoed throughout the arena.

Sting gathered more light in his fist as he jumped into the air.

' _In order to get rid of Laxus...I'm putting all my force into this one!'_

" **White Dragon's Divine-** " Sting was cut off by a lightning bolt hitting him from the sky, causing the White Dragon to cry out in pain as he looked at Laxus, confused.

Laxus smirked as he explained, "Just 'cause I can't move...doesn't mean my lightning can't."

As a result of Sting's loss of energy, the stigmata on Laxus's abs disappeared as the lightning mage ran toward his downed opponent.

" **Lightning Dragon's Jaw!"** Laxus locked his hands into a fist and, swinging them down into Sting's back, created lightning around them and pushed Sting straight into the ground as he screamed in utter pain.

* * *

"Sting!" Wendy yelled in worry as she witnessed the attack hit her teammate.

Seeing an opening, Wendy's opponent prepared an attack toward the girl. " **Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"** Natsu yelled as he engulfed his entire body in flames and propelled himself to Wendy at a high speed, hitting her with a powerful headbutt. Wendy let out a cry of pain as she was then sent flying into the air above from a pillar of fire.

As she began to descend from high up, Wendy gathered a lot of winds in her hand as she powered up her strength a bit more. Once she got low enough, she chanted, " **Sky Dragon's Crushing Fang!"** and swiped her hand at Natsu's chest.

Natsu easily grabbed Wendy's wrist and threw her hard onto the ground, knocking out the wind in her as the force created a few cracks in the ground under her.

"If you're gonna act like Fairy Tail means nothing to you, then I'm not holdin' back at all! **Fire Dragon's Claw!"**

Wendy was kicked across the dirt as the fire attack sent her all the way to where her other two comrades were also on the ground, struggling to get back up.

"Where's that same cockiness from earlier, huh?" Gajeel grinned, cracking his knuckles as the three Fairies regrouped, surrounding the Triple Dragons.

The three Saber mages got up, only to be met with punches and kicks from their opponents, causing them to fall back down.

In the judges' seats, Chapati continued his play-by-play analysis as he yelled, "And the Triple Dragons are back on the ground! The Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers are on a whole other level!"

"Now, now," Mato, who joined Chapati and Yajima in the third seat, stated, "The Triple Dragons still have many more aces up their sleeve. Everyone who's watched the Games the last few years would know it-kabo."

"Mato's right," Yajima agreed with the pumpkin-head, "For the Fairies who were stuck in time for 7 years, they have no idea what's coming for them. But, I still have faith they'll end up alright."

* * *

On the balcony at the top of the stadium, many guards stood around, surrounding Yukino, Future Rogue, and Princess Hisui as they watched the battle.

"Oh no, Rogue-sama…" Yukino whispered as she turned to the older man next to her, "Did you guys…?"

"It's not over yet," Future Rogue replied, "Not quite."

"How much longer until the battle's finished?"

"...Let's just say that it was probably a good idea that the time limit was eliminated."

Yukino looked at the time, noticing how the match started 20 minutes ago. Since the time limit would have been 30 minutes, Future Rogue was saying that the battle is definitely going to exceed that.

"I'm sure it'll end up alright in the end," Yukino smiled at the man, who simply just nodded in response, "You guys never lose anyways."

Future Rogue simply replied, "This is definitely the most interesting battle of the Games this year. That, I can assure you."

* * *

Carla continued to fly throughout the tunnels of the arena, looking for the sign that read 'TEAM SABERTOOTH' on it.

Right as a guide sign came to sight, more of the vision began to reveal itself, and Carla stopped flying to see the rest of it.

She was able to see more of what was going on. Screams cried from the stands and people all ran to go help the unconscious figure on the ground. As the dust began to clear, Carla was able to make out an idea of what was happening at the scene.

Returning back to the real world, Carla let out a loud gasp as she began to run toward the Sabertooth tunnel, wherever that was.

' _This isn't going to happen...not as long as I'm here!_ _'_ was all the ran through her mind.

* * *

The Triple Dragons continued to be beat up by the Fairies, not getting enough time to stand up or fight back.

The Fairy Tail fans were all cheering while the guild itself just smiled.

"Three months of training for Laxus and Gajeel and Second Origin for Natsu made them this strong, huh?" Makarov observed, "They don't even compare to what they were back on Tenrou Island."

"Indeed, Sixth," Mavis added, "But I can still sense all the magic power the Triple Dragons have left. They said they are the so-called 'Third Generation', right?"

"Yeah."

"I have no recollection of what that means skill wise."

"Neither do I, First. Neither do I."

* * *

"You three still have a long ways to go before you can say that you're the top," Natsu declared, "But you're not bad."

Chapati's voice boomed through the speakers, yelling, "The Fairies look untouched, while the Triple Dragons look beyond beat! Will it all end like this?!"

"Like hell it will!" Wendy shouted. The three Tigers slowly got up, scratches all over their bodies and their clothes having rips all over.

"Yeah," Sting agreed, "I knew this wasn't going to be easy, but…"

"We're nowhere near done," Rogue finished his comrade's statement.

At that, the Triple Dragons' bodies began to glow once more in the color of their elements. Their hair rose to an even higher, spikier level as an abundant amount of magic power emitted itself off of the three. The three Fairies all tilted their heads in slight confusion and curiosity.

"What is this magic power?" Gajeel quietly asked.

Markings placed themselves on Sting and Rogue's bodies as Wendy's hair and eyes began to turn pink.

Recognizing Wendy's pink form right away, Natsu simply answered the Iron Dragon's question.

"Dragon Force. All three of them can power it on by will."

"That's what makes the Third Generation so special, eh?" Gajeel responded.

"Looks like this just got a lot more interesting," Laxus smirked.

"Gihi."

The Triple Dragons now looked angrier than ever, determination locked onto their faces as they didn't even give a single smile.

"There's still plenty of fight left in us," Wendy said in a cold tone, immediately launching herself at Natsu at a speed even faster than the one she was at earlier.

Sting and Rogue quickly followed behind, attacking their opponents and making it seem like they were not just being beat up less than a few minutes ago.

"Tch," Gajeel rolled his eyes, "You think that Dragon Force is gonna stop us?"

"Dragon Force grants a Dragon Slayer the power of a dragon," Rogue explained.

"And if you guys couldn't even defeat a dragon back on Tenrou," Sting continued Rogue's explanation as he threw attacks to Laxus, "How do you think you're gonna defeat three?"

"You guys are nothin' compared to Acnologia," Gajeel declared, turning his arm into an iron sword and swinging it at Rogue, who then quickly disappeared into a shadow.

"What he said," Laxus agreed, sending lightning toward Sting.

Sting hopped up into the air, allowing the lightning to go right underneath him. Conveniently, Gajeel was standing right there, his arm a complete magnet for the lightning. Gajeel cried out in pain as he was electrocuted by Laxus's lightning. As he was electrocuted, Rogue came out of his shadow and hit Gajeel, chanting, " **Shadow Dragon's Slash,"** as he did so.

Sting then hit Laxus with a variety of light attacks, making the lightning mage begin to fall back toward where Gajeel and Rogue's battle was.

Gajeel and Laxus were now back to back, taking in the hits of the two Tigers without enough time to counter. The Sabertooth members' movements were directly in sync with one another, even managing to switch opponents within the blink of an eye. Blood was coming out of the Fairy Tail members' mouths as they took more and more hits.

In the stands stood a very worried Fairy Tail guild, watching in horror as Gajeel and Laxus got their asses beaten by the two mages.

"This is pathetic…" Gajeel muttered next to Laxus.

"Not for long," Laxus muttered back, jumping into the air and attacking Sting back.

Gajeel now stood alone at the middle of the arena. He then prepared another attack to try and hit Rogue with. " **Iron Dragon's Roar!"**

" **Shadow Dragon's Roar!"**

The roar of shadows easily overpowered the one of iron, and as Gajeel was hit by the attack, Rogue ran through it and punched Gajeel straight across the face.

"Oi…" Gajeel trailed off as he observed Rogue's movements. Everything that Rogue was doing reminded Gajeel of his days back at Phantom Lord. His words, his movements; it was all too familiar. "That's my mo-"

"Watch out!"

Gajeel fell to the ground, looking up to see what hit him. He found none other than Laxus shielding his body. The Iron Dragon, shocked, looked to where Laxus came from, seeing Sting standing behind the man, wiping his mouth.

Sting had fired his laser-like roar to Laxus, who easily dodged it, and then targeted the distracted Gajeel, to which Laxus ran to save the guy.

"Laxus…" Gajeel whispered as he helped the big man up. He had taken so many hits from Sting and Wendy in the battle, that it was really tiring him out. It was obvious that they were trying to get rid of him early, and their plan looked like it was working.

"I'm fine. Just...just pay more attention next time," he said between breaths.

"Yeah...sorry."

* * *

"Tell me, Wendy," Natsu began as he dodged the girl's attacks, "Is Dragon Force your final trump card?"

"Not even close," the girl answered before attacking, " **Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!"**

Winds formed in the shape of feathered wings and hit Natsu directly, sending him a few feet back before the teen was able to stop himself with his own flames.

However, Natsu failed to realize that Wendy formed a wind barrier around the two of them, trapping him inside as Wendy readied her spell. As more winds gathered, they all slowly turned to a dark red color.

" **Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Shattering Light: Hell's Winds!"**

The red winds swirled out of the barrier and into a single stream, flying straight toward Natsu. The attack being too quick for him, he was hit right in the abdomen. Natsu spit out a small amount of blood as he was sent out of the barrier and flying right into a wall.

"Salamander!" Gajeel could be heard crying out.

"That looked painful," Chapati stated the obvious into the mic, "Think he's alright?"

Yajima let out a chuckle, "I doubt he's even scathed."

And Yajima was right. Natsu wiped the small blood from his mouth and stood back up.

"No way…" Wendy whispered in pure shock, "That's never been blocked before."

Natsu, at the very last second, ignited a single flame in his fist and used that as a shield. Though it was not a good one, it kept him from being knocked down from the rest of the battle.

"Not bad," he smirked, "Though you could use some more…'mmph'. More power."

"Just shut up, will you?" Wendy jumped into the air and stuck out her leg, swinging it right into Natsu's jaw and yelling, " **Sky Dragon's Claw!"**

* * *

Carla sprinted to the Team Sabertooth balcony, yelling out the three watching members' names as she ran in.

"Carla?" Rufus acknowledged her, only to be greeted back with a slap to the face.

"What the hell did you do?!" Carla yelled at him as he nearly fell over from her force, pouncing onto Rufus and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt.

"Oh my," Minerva gave a small, mischievous smile as she watched Carla yell at Rufus.

"Whoa, whoa! Hold it!" Orga grabbed onto Carla, pulling her off of Rufus and helping the teen up from the ground. "What's your deal, Carla?"

"You messed with her head, didn't you?!"

"Carla, calm down," Rufus whispered, "People are staring."

"People are too busy watching the fight, which is getting so heated because _you_ did something to Wendy!" the humanoid shouted.

"I just-"

"You messed up her mind, Rufus!"

"No," a voice boomed from behind Carla, making the Exceed shiver as she quickly turned to face the man behind her. It was none other than the Sabertooth master himself, who had followed Carla to the tunnel to see what she was up to.

"Rufus did not mess up her mind. He _fixed_ it."

Carla remained silent, lowering her eyelids as she glared at Jiemma, allowing the man to continue.

"The girl was gonna make Sabertooth lose. Yeah, her memories _may_ be somewhat important to her, but she said it herself. She would do _anything_ for the guild." Jiemma recalled the girls words from earlier.

"You play dirty, Jiemma," Carla took a step closer to him, making complete eye contact with him as she said, "And, with all due respect, I can't let Wendy continue fighting. If you don't let Rufus restore her memories, then-"

"Then what? What are you going to do? What _can_ you do, cat?"

Jiemma never really liked Carla. Ever since they met 5 years ago, she had been especially sassy toward him. Maybe, just maybe, this could be the perfect excuse to…'rid' her from Wendy's mind as well.

"A few punches and kicks aren't gonna get anyone anywhere. And neither will restoring Wendy's memories."

Carla gulped before backing off from the man, turning to the arena floor, looking right at Wendy as the girl continued to fight Natsu.

' _Wendy...just hold on...I need to make a plan.'_

* * *

 **"Iron Dragon's Scales!"** Gajeel chanted as he covered his body in its iron coating.

Rogue continued to go in and out of shadow form. Even with Gajeel's iron form protecting the teen, Rogue could still hit Gajeel forcefully.

Rogue could hear Sting struggling against Laxus, and sighed as he looked back at Gajeel.

"Sorry, Gajeel, but we can't keep going back and forth like this. Our fight ends now."

"Eh? What the hell you talkin' abou- _Guah!_ "

A pool of shadows formed underneath Gajeel as the iron mage was being slowly dragged down into the shadows.

"Wh-what is this?"

 **"Shadow Dragon's Vortex."**

"And there it is!" Chapati announced, "One of Rogue's most powerful spells!"

"There's no getting out of this one. That's a guarantee-kabo." Mato added.

"Gajeel!" Laxus yelled out, running to help the teen. However, a burst of light hit him from behind, making Laxus fall to the ground. Before he could get back up, Gajeel was already beyond saving.

"Where the hell are you taking him?!" Laxus looked at Sting with pure anger.

Sting stomped onto Laxus's back with another light attack as he explained, "The rules of this battle are pretty simple: You're counted as 'down' if you're unconscious, you give up, or you leave the arena. Rogue's just teleported Gajeel right outside the arena."

"That's a cheap move," the lightning mage spat out as he shot down lightning toward Sting.

"Well, he could've done it much earlier to all 3 of you guys," Sting commented as he jumped up and swung his arm at Laxus, hitting the lightning mage again, "But we _do_ have a sense of pride. Gajeel must've been a hard opponent for Rogue to defeat. You guys should be flattered."

" _Gah_!" Laxus let out a cry of pain as Sting hit him.

As he flew back from the light attack, his vision was then blackened and he felt shadows creep up his body as he heard Rogue chant, **"Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash."**

The shadows attacked Laxus all at once as the man fell back to the ground in pain. As he landed on the ground, he was met with yet another attack from Sting.

" **White Dragon's Divine Fist!"**

Sting punched Laxus toward the wall, the attack cracking the concrete on it as Laxus spat out more blood.

In front of him stood a very strong Sting and Rogue, both of which were unscathed as they double teamed him.

The two waited silently for Laxus's next move. The lightning mage only kept smiling as he got back up and into a battle stance once again.

"2-on-1, huh? C'mon then. I'll take you both out in one go," he declared as a bolt of lightning stuck both of them.

Sting clenched his teeth in frustration with the man and looked over to his blue-haired comrade across the arena.

"We could use a boost!" he yelled over to Wendy. The girl nodded, quickly enchanting Sting and Rogue's strength to the max she could get it to.

"Don't be cowards and hide behind the enchantments," Laxus taunted, though his strong words did not match how he was looking right now. His clothes were ripped and had many blood stains in them, and blood was dripping from his mouth as he began to lose energy from Sting and Rogue's constant attacks.

"Just stay down!" Sting yelled as looked at Rogue, who nodded with him. The two formed large orbs of light and shadows behind them. They got into a familiar stance to the crowd, uniting the orbs of magic between their palms. However, Laxus didn't move from his spot on the wall. He simply waited.

" **Holy Shadow Dragon's Flashing Fang!"** the two yelled, punching their fists forward. A huge beam of light and shadows shot right at Laxus, hitting him directly and breaking open the wall he was leaned up against, creating a huge hole in it.

"Laxus!" Natsu yelled out as he stopped his fight with Wendy and ran over to assist the man.

As Natsu made his way over, a huge sound of thunder boomed in the sky. As Laxus flew farther back from the into the arena's tunnels, the mage channeled the rest of his magic power into his fist.

"I'll get rid of 'em for you...but...Fairy Tail...is now left in your hands...Natsu..." Laxus whispered.

 **"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Roaring Thunder!"**

Laxus punched his fist forward, releasing a bolt of lightning that was even wider than the two Tigers' Unison Raid.

The lightning hit them directly, sending them flying across the entire arena as they were electrocuted throughout their bodies.

Sting and Rogue both landed right in front of where Wendy was, their eyes were completely white as it was obvious that they were down.

"What a quick turn of events!" Chapati yelled in pure excitement, "Not only has Gajeel been ruled out of the battle, but Laxus, Sting, and Rogue also are out!"

"What went from a 3-on-3 battle has turned into a 1-on-1 in a matter of minutes," Yajima added."

"This has gotten so interesting-kabo!"

 _"Fairy Tail...is now left in your hands...Natsu..."_ Laxus's words repeated themselves in the Fire Dragon's head.

"Yeah," Natsu mumbled as pure rage filled him.

He stared Wendy right into her soul as lightning began to surround him.

 **"Mode: Lightning Flame Dragon!"**

Wendy felt a few shivers go down her spine as she saw the boy ignite his body in flames and lightning.

With nothing left to say, Natsu only yelled out two words to begin their battle once more.

"Let's go!"

* * *

 **As the two prepare for their final battle, just what does fate have in store for them?**

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Yes, I managed to get rid of 4 Dragon Slayers in one chapter XD I wasn't planning on doing that in this chapter, but it sorta just happened :P**

 **This chapter took a bit longer than usual...sorry about that! I was working on my very first AMV (I can't put links here so just look up "Fairy Tail Unravel" on youtube and look for the one by Eternal Dragon Slayer if you wanna check it out!) but I made this one extra long for you guys :)**

 **Quick summary because so much is going on rn**

 **-Gajeel, Laxus, Sting, and Rogue are all down**

 **-Carla's vision includes 2 figures and a pool of blood...hm...**

 **-Jiemma and Carla butt heads**

 **As usual, please leave a review! And add ":9" to it if you see read this A/N ^-^**

 **To be continued in Battle of the Six Part 3! The final part!**


	21. Battle of the Six Part 3 - Wendy Marvell

**A/N: And the conclusion to this battle has come! Who will come out victorious?**

 **The reception last chapter got made me absolutely flutter with joy :) I'm ecstatic you all enjoyed it. Hopefully this one is even better :D**

 **Special thanks to my new beta, Conbolt is Fire, for helping me with this! He added some great stuff here!**

* * *

"Rufus, I need your help," Carla begged the teen, her desperate tone and attitude completely different from the aggressive one she just showed earlier.

After her stare down with Jiemma ended, the Sabertooth master went back to his seat, thinking he scared off the white Exceed from pulling anything on Wendy.

"Help with what?" the memory mage asked, confused.

"With Wendy," she answered, "I need you to restore her memories. And not just because of personal and moral reasons."

"I can't-"

"I had a vision and-"

"Carla, I can't-"

"If you don't restore them she'll-"

"Carla!" Rufus yelled, causing the Exceed to stop talking, "I can't restore them, even if I wanted to! What I did to her...it's unfixable. I made sure of it." he let out a sigh.

Carla took a few seconds to process his statement before clenching her fist hard enough to make her knuckles go purely white.

"I-I don't care if it's unfixable!" she yelled, tears forming in her eyes, "Find a way to _make_ it fixable!"

* * *

The fusion of lightning and fire created a glow bright enough to light up the entire area surrounding Natsu and Wendy. Chills were sent throughout Wendy's entire body as she looked at the very form that was strong enough to defeat Jiemma himself that one night.

"Let's go!" Natsu yelled, jumping from where he was standing and charging straight at the girl with a speed unlike the one he had earlier.

The Fairy Tail wizard had eyes that glowed a bright red, locked right onto his target as thunder boomed around the entire arena. All he could think at the moment was how Laxus was laying somewhere in the arena's tunnel system unconscious, how Gajeel was outside the arena, and how Lucy was still in the infirmary.

 **"Lightning Flame Dragon's…"**

Wendy snapped out of her scared state as she saw Natsu engulf his arm in the two elements he was using. She swiftly formed a wind barrier around herself for protection.

 **"Firing Hammer!"**

Natsu's fist hit the barrier head-on, the explosion being diverted to go around the barrier's exterior, completely destroying Wendy's defense.

"Holy shit…" was all Wendy could whisper as the huge blast blew her back many feet.

"Wendy's best defense was completely shattered after that one hit!" Chapati yelled in pure shock, "How strong has Natsu gotten with this new form?!"

Natsu jumped up and charged once more at Wendy, this time too fast for her to create a barrier, grabbing her by the head and throwing her across the arena, his throw accompanied by a stream of lightning and fire.

Wendy let out a quiet cry of pain from the burn, but managed to slightly heal herself before being knocked out from the attack.

Propelling himself high into the air, Natsu sucked in all the lightning and fire around him and aimed his head right at the girl.

 **"Lightning Flame Dragon's Roar!"** Natsu screamed as he released the massive sparking blast from his mouth, completely destroying the ground of Domus Flau. The earth itself shook as Natsu continued to make the floor crumble away. All of the arena was lit up in a glow of orange and yellow as the crowd was now forced to watch the battle on a lacrima vision screen.

The force sent the girl (along with Sting and Rogue's unconscious bodies that were on the floor) down the hole Natsu created.

* * *

The fans were going completely wild. Cheers and shouts were booming all over as the three commentators were now standing at the tips of their toes, trying to see what was going on.

"That was quite a breath attack!" Yajima said in pure awe.

"Indeed-kabo!"

"Is this the end of the intense battle?" Chapati added as everyone looked for the place Wendy landed.

"No," Yajima answered the man, "Look at Natsu-kun's face. That's not the face of someone who's just won. Nothing's over yet."

As usual, Yajima was right. Natsu's eyes were as hardened as ever. He knew nothing was over yet.

A bright glow was seen amidst the debris, revealing the Sky Sorceress's location as she healed herself from the blow.

 **"Sky Dragon's-"**

 **"Lightning Flame Dragon's Iron Fist!"**

Wendy's spell was cut off by a flame-covered punch that was followed by a bolt of lightning, sending her back even further as Natsu continued beating her down.

"This battle has turned completely one-sided!" Chapati announced as the entire crowd saw Wendy taking many hits from the Salamander. Every time he threw an attack, she managed to barely dodge before subsequently getting hit with another attack. For the first time in the battle, Wendy was bleeding, the blood slowly dripping from her mouth as she continued to get the wind knocked out of her by the boy wielding two elements.

"This isn't even a battle anymore," Yajima commented next to the man, "This is a beat down."

"Agreed-kabo…"

* * *

"Rufus, please!"

Carla was in her biggest form of desperation, the girl holding the collar of Rufus's coat as she shed a few tears. She took a quick glance at the lacrima vision, seeing her best friend continuously fall down at the hands of Natsu Dragneel. "Please...help Wendy…"

"I...I can't, Carla. It's not possible…"

"You think I don't get that? If it wasn't as serious as _this_ then I wouldn't push you like this...but…"

"Carla," Rufus whispered, "What did you see?"

Carla mumbled a few words for only Rufus to hear, resulting in the teen widening his eyes in pure shock. In less than a split second, both he and Carla bolted out of the balcony and began to make their way toward the bottom of the arena, ignoring both Orga and Minerva's shouts of confusion from behind them.

* * *

 **"Sky Dragon's Roar!"** Wendy cried out, releasing a tornado from her mouth, its size much smaller compared to the ones she was able to produce earlier that battle.

Natsu easily jumped over the roar, bring his fists up and forming two long streams of fire and lightning in them. As he began to go back down, he forcefully brought the two fists down to the ground, causing the streams of magic to follow, hitting the girl and disintegrating her roar.

 _'J-just what is this guy capable of…?'_ Wendy's thoughts trailed off as she managed to back away far enough to catch her breath. Now mustering more of her depleting energy, Wendy created a wind barrier around the teen, chanting, **"Dragon Slayer Secret Art! Shattering Light: Sky Drill!"**

A huge glowing beam of wind made its way toward Natsu. However, with complete ease, Natsu destroyed it with his flames and hit the girl back with a bolt of lightning.

 _'Even my Sky Drill?!'_ Wendy bit her lower lip as the pain from the lighting in her back surged through her. She was on her hands and knees as Natsu stood tall with waves of dragon slayer magic flowing off him. The crowd was in to it as they cheered at the incredible show of power.

"ANND Fairy Tail's Natsu Dragneel is quickly dominating this fight! He is incredible!" Chapati's booming voice blasted throughout the stadium and the crowd grew louder. Wendy gripped the ground beneath her until her knuckles turned white. Anger pumped through her veins from the thought of losing to the one she hated so much.

 _'Unbelievable...all of my training wasn't enough…I hate him...and I hate Fairy Tail so much!'_

Red wind slowly began to swirl around her body, kicking up the dirt of the underground into violent tornado. _'I need it all...I need to unleash it...I need to unleash my anger...!'_ The red tornado quickly turned darker and darker until it grew into a blood red typhoon.

"That wind...can no longer be called wind..." Mavis whispered in shock as she saw Wendy's shadowy figure slowly part the dark-red tornado. "It is…as red as blood..."

In the stands of Sabertooth, Jiemma cracked an evil grin. _'That's it...use the power I gave you. Use it all.'_

* * *

 _5 Years Ago - 3 months after Wendy and Carla joined the guild_

 _"Master," Wendy walked up to the man, shuffling the packet of papers in her hand as she read them, confusion all over her face. "I don't understand what this is talking about."_

 _"'Red Wind'," the man stood up from his chair, "It's an ancient spell utilized by powerful wind mages. Similar to your 'Hell's Winds', the wind around you turns red. However, this special type turns your wind into a force that is even more powerful than you could imagine."_

 _"How can I achieve it?" Wendy asked, still confused at the master's words._

 _"You need to get angry."_

 _At that, Carla scoffed in the background._

 _"Oh, please," the Exceed walked up to them, "Wendy here can't hurt a fly."_

 _Jiemma rolled his eyes at the cat, quickly disregarding her comment and looking back at the girl._

 _"That's...unfortunately true..." Wendy sighed._

 _"I know...but you're a Sabertooth wizard now, no?"_

 _The girl nodded._

 _"And what does a Sabertooth wizard do?"_

 _"Make the heavens roar...The earth boil...The seas silent..."_

 _"And how do you think that happens?"_

 _"Through anger..."_

* * *

Wendy's body came fully into view as blood red winds pulsed around her spiky pink hair like a heartbeat and her pink pupils seethed with a hatred that was so foreign to Natsu that he had to take a step back.

"I will finish you here...Natsu Dragneel!" Wendy charged forward and thrusted her fist coated in her new wind right at his face. Natsu's lighting charged body seemed to inhumanly react as he tilted his head away just at the moment it would have collided with his face. He felt the wind gust past him as her fist cut right by him.

Natsu's right hand sped to grab her extended arm but before it could reach his body was sent flying away from Wendy as a blood red wind slammed into his cheek. The surprise attack sent him tumbling away but he used his hands and legs to dig into the dirt to slow down his recoil.

 _'I thought I dodged that.'_ He wiped the blood from his mouth as he stood up. Wendy glared across the battlefield before she took in a deep breath and a dark red spell circle appeared in front of her.

" **Red Wind: Vacuum Bullets!** " Wendy exhaled several small blasts of dark red wind that spread out towards Natsu making it difficult to avoid as they covered a large area. As Natsu tracked the dark red bullets, they faded into nothing when they were halfway to him.

 _'They turned invisible?!'_ The first one cut him across the cheek before he realized he had to try and dodge with his enhanced reflexes. Another slices across his shoulder as he leapt into the air and he watched the other bullets pierce the ground beneath him with enough force to shatter the ground into little chunks.

Natsu refused to let her relax for a moment so he fired flames out of his feet and dive bombed towards her at full speed. Wendy reared her head back before taking a deep breath.

" **Red Wind: Vacuum Waves!** " She exhaled several waves of dark red wind, rapidly moving her head in various directions to make them go at different angles.

Natsu followed their path with his eyes and just as they turned invisible he rolled in the air and watched with a serious look as a wave passed directly over his face and another brushed underneath him. He continued his roll and balanced himself out in the air before diving at her.

Wendy blew a giant gust into the ground to create a large smokescreen of dust, hoping to get out of his sight.

"You can't hide! **Lightning Flame Dragon's Iron Fist!** " Natsu's immense punch blasted away part of the dust blocking his view causing Wendy's eyes widen at how close he was to hitting her. Natsu then scanned the dust cloud for her, setting his sights right in front of him as a whirling sound was quickly approaching.

 _'Duck!'_ Out of the smoke came a rock whizzing right towards him and as he bent backwards to dodge he saw that it was surrounded in a large disk of invisible wind, allowing the girl to gain control over it. It flew past him and sliced clean through a larger rock that was behind him and flew nonstop until it lodged itself deep into the wall of the underground area behind him.

Natsu continued into a back flip to create some distance but now Wendy was on the attack as the dust was starting to settle. Wendy had a violently rotating red wind disk in one hand while she blew on another rock in her hand and watched as it began to spin and form into another dark red disk. She threw the first one at him before following it up with the second one.

The two wind disks danced back and forth as they crossed the distance and quickly seemed to vanish. Natsu closed his eyes and focused only on the sound and without opening his eyes, he leaned backwards and kicked the rock center of the first one causing it to go off course and curve away.

Natsu's eyes sharpened into slits right before he thrusted out his hand and caught the second wave disk by its physical center. The wind was slicing his hand but he powered through the pain and spun his body. Once he fully rotated he threw it back at Wendy as strong as he could making her attack his own.

Wendy didn't panic but was surprised to see it come back at her. As the wind disk grew closer she didn't move out of the way to dodge but instead just as the sharp wind was about to touch her lips she simply sucked in the wind, eating it up as she caught the rock before it hit her between the eyes.

She crushed the rock but before she could throw another at him Natsu was right in front of her with his lighting flame fist pulled back.

" **Lightning Flame Dragon's Iron Fist!"**

" **Red Wind: Great Vacuum Sphere!** "

Wendy compressed all of the dark red wind around her into a single, large crushing sphere of blood wind that covered her like a shield as Natsu's **Iron fist** slammed head-on with it. Natsu's veins on his forehead bulged outward as the strain was hard on him while Wendy's sole focus was holding her arms up and try rebuilding the sphere as quickly as Natsu was breaking through it.

He let out a mighty **roar** and as his power surged her sphere instantly dispersed into nothing leaving Wendy open and lightly backpedaling from the recoil. Natsu lost his balance for a moment because he had thrown everything he had into that punch but with a quick turn of his left foot and shift of his body weight he was now driving his still ignited fist towards her face.

Wendy's hand shot out and grabbed his face. " **Sky Dragon's Wave Wind-** " Right before she could activate her spell directly onto his head a sudden whirling noise to her right caught her attention. The first wind disk that Natsu kicked away had finally boomeranged around to create an elaborate delayed attack. Natsu broke out into a smirk that was hidden under Wendy's hand but she didn't bother as she let it fly right towards her.

 _'I'll just eat it like last time-!'_

As she opened her mouth a thunderous open hand strike from Natsu slammed her jaw shut and while it felt like her teeth were crushed, the pain of her own wind disk slicing into her side was much worse. The hand that was once holding onto Natsu instinctively rushed to her quickly bleeding side.

But that left her wide open.

" **Lightning Flame Dragon's Claw!** " Natsu spun on his hands and delivered a huge spinning kick into her right cheek. At the moment of contact it exploded violently and in slow motion her body rippled like jelly before she flew right through stone pillar after stone pillar until lodging deep into the cavern's wall.

Natsu slammed his other foot down into the ground and leaned his body back into a mighty roar. The ground began to crack as his body was surging with even more power. A lightning and fire aura exploded out and surrounded him as he was building up his strength.

Wendy slowly fell out of the wall and crawled a few feet with one hand on the large gash on her side. She slowly stood up and felt her anger subside in the face of such intense pain. Not even her self-healing could fix this. The blood red wind subsided around her and she felt a large part of her magic now used up while Natsu was blasting waves of wind around him from his growing magic levels alone. It was through sheer will alone that she was still in Dragon Force, the power it normally gave her now diminished.

 _'What's it gonna take to beat this guy?'_

Wendy then saw Natsu's aura suddenly compress down to his arms as it charged one fist with fire and the other with lightning. Her eyes widened as she realized that the boy was looking to end everything now.

Natsu let out a shout as he charged up the rest of his energy, reaching into the Second Origin container he had unlocked and pulling out the rest of the power from it.

 **"Dragon Slayer Secret Art!"**

 _'Is...is he even human…?'_

 **"Crimson Lotus!"**

Wendy's eyes were met by Natsu's, the girl feeling fear spread all over her as she was too afraid and injured to even set up a defense against the incoming attack.

 **"Exploding Lightning Blade!"**

Natsu swung his arms, creating a vortex of fire and lightning that charged right at his sole target. Wendy took a direct hit, the force so great that she was sent back far away from her original spot. The entire arena shook as the attack destroyed much of the underground cavern.

When she landed, Wendy's energy became so depleted that her body exited Dragon Force as she began to lose consciousness.

 _'I...can't lose…'_

Wendy's fist tightened as she slammed it in the ground out of frustration.

 _'I can't lose, dammit!'_

"That...that was kinda fun, don't you think?" Natsu innocently smiled, breathing heavily from exhaustion. He walked over to the girl, holding his arm out to help her up.

Wendy only kept looking at the ground in utter disappointment, ignoring Natsu as she kept slamming her fist into the ground.

Over the speakers, Chapati's voice could be heard by everyone.

"What a fantastic fight!" the man yelled in excitement as the fans began to cheer loudly, "In the battle of 6 Dragon Slayers, the last one standing is Fairy Tail's Natsu Dragneel!"

 _'No! This...this can't happen! I can't let this happen!'_

"A truly splendid performance on both sides," Yajima added.

 _'No...I can still fight...! I can still...'_

"With this win, Fairy Tail gains the lead, earning 10 poin-"

 **"NO!"** Wendy's voice screamed at the top of her Dragon lungs, echoing throughout the entire building of Domus Flau as wind began blowing everywhere in the arena.

A wind barrier swiftly placed itself around the arena, blowing any loose items away and into the barrier itself.

The crowd immediately shut up as they looked to the screen, where it could be seen that Wendy got back up and wanted to continue this fight.

"Wendy…" Natsu trailed off in worry, seeing the rage in the girl's eyes, a rage so strong that it even surpassed the one he had just earlier.

 **"Winds of the great sky,"** Wendy began to chant, causing everyone in the crowd to go even wilder.

"Don't tell me…" Makarov became speechless as the entire guild recognized Wendy's spell right away.

 **"I call upon thee."**

* * *

"Rufus, we don't have much time!" Carla said to the teen as the two stood at the ledge that separated the crowd from the arena.

With his eyes glowing a bright gold, Rufus told the girl, "I'm trying my best...but her mind seems to be shutting me out. I can't even get ahold of her memories."

"Oh no…"

"It's probably going take another memory mage to at least get into her head without being shut out by her self-healing ability," he informed Carla.

"I may be able to help," a new voice entered the area, causing Carla to turn around and see who it belonged to.

"Doranbolt-san?" The man was in his Council uniform, walking rather quickly over to them.

* * *

"How the hell does she have this much power remaining?" Orga wondered, in as much shock as the rest of the people in the arena.

However, Minerva next to him was completely unfazed by Wendy's next move, simply replying, "She's managed to unlock the strongest power a mage can have. Not some enchantment or magic container boost. She let her emotions completely take over her actions. With only anger and frustration fueling her, she can finally defeat the only other mage in this arena who unlocked this ability. She can finally defeat Natsu Dragneel."

"Do it," Jiemma mumbled from his seat, anger radiating off of him in massive amounts, "Redeem yourself from that sorry excuse of a fight."

* * *

 **"Shine your light upon this world."**

Natsu stood still, frozen in fear as he heard the winds howling around the entire arena.

 _'Why...why am I scared?'_

Natsu Dragneel was no stranger to fear, especially after his experience on Tenroujima. He learned that fear made him know what his weakness was, and how it therefore made him stronger.

But how come _this_ fear felt like he was getting weaker?

 **"Infinity Winds!"**

Wendy's eyes shot open, magic circles placing themselves over her pink irises as the spell became activated. The very spell that, according to the MPF, was on the same level as the top 5 wizards of the 10 Wizard Saints.

No one in the crowd said a single word, the entire arena just engulfed in the sound of wind blasts coming out of the barrier and straight toward Natsu.

A single drop of sweat rolled down the Fire Dragon's cheek.

 _'I...lose…'_ was all Natsu could think as the blasts came within mere inches from him.

His vision began to go white as the wind came closer and closer toward him. Every person in the stadium was on the edge of their seats as the boy prepared to take the attack head-on.

And suddenly, everything went silent.

* * *

 _"If Wendy doesn't get her memories back, she'll kill Natsu…"_ Carla's words repeated themselves in Rufus's head as he and Doranbolt combined their memory magic to get to Wendy's mind and prevent the vision that Carla saw earlier that day.

When she told Rufus that and the two began to make their way toward the ground floor of the arena, he looked into the Exceed's memories to see the vision she had earlier.

In Carla's vision, once the dust settled, the girl could see a collapsed and bloody Natsu laying lifeless on the arena floor, with Wendy just a few feet from him, her face expressionless. Games officials and Fairy Tail members were quickly making their way down the huge hole, hoping to get to Natsu quickly.

Carla also heard the screams of terror and fright that many people, especially the children in the stands, were making. She could see tears falling onto the ground and actually feel Natsu's life drift away from them all.

And after seeing that, Rufus declared that he and Doranbolt absolutely _cannot_ fail their objective now. Not just for Wendy's sake. For the sake of saving a life.

"It'll take too long to replace the artificial memories in her mind. We're gonna have to just try and show her the real ones and see if it'll convince her." Rufus explained the situation to Doranbolt.

"Got it," the Council worker nodded back.

As the two memory mages continued to battle their way through to Wendy's mind, blasts of wind began to shoot out from the wind barrier, going right past the trio on the ground as Wendy finished casting her ultimate spell.

"We don't have much time…" Carla observed, "Please…"

"We got a connection!" Doranbolt and Rufus said simultaneously, causing Carla to sigh in pure relief as her prayers were answered.

* * *

 _'What...what is this feeling?'_

The comet-like blasts of wind immediately fell to the ground, disappearing along with the wind barrier.

Images flashed in Wendy's head all at one moment, disrupting her concentration as her spell was interrupted.

 _T_ he first thing she saw was her 12 year-old self, tripping and falling onto the ground in her blue and yellow striped dress. And when she got up, she saw mages from different guilds: Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, and….Fairy Tail. She saw a group of four mages: a red-haired woman with armor on, a blonde girl with a whip and keys attached to her belt, a dark-haired boy without a shirt, and a pink-haired boy with a scale-like scarf wrapped around his neck. The group was accompanied by a blue Exceed, one just like Carla.

The next thing she saw was Cait Shelter's illusion magic wearing off, seeing all of her comrades slowly disappear into nothingness as her and Carla cried their hearts out. Feeling a comforting hand on her shoulder, she turned to face the same red-haired woman from before. All the woman said were six simple words...

 _"Come with us...to Fairy Tail."_

After that, a whole flood of flashbacks washed through her mind, seeing many adventures with that same group of people she just say. The adventures were full of smiles, tears, and everything in between.

It all happened in an instant. Just a few seconds ago, Wendy Marvell was full of hatred. And now, she was full of...confusion.

The girl grabbed onto the top of her head, stepping back as she repeated over and over, "What is this?"

The grasp she had on her head got tighter and tighter as more images flowed into her head. The memories she was receiving now collided with the ones that she had thought to be real, creating a whirlwind of problem within her.

It was like a puzzle. Before, Rufus had simply taken out some pieces and created his own, rearranging and changing the other pieces so that his would fit into the puzzle perfectly. And now, he couldn't take out those pieces. All he and Doranbolt could do was try and force the old pieces back in, and doing so was no easy process.

"Get out…" the girl whispered, "Get out of my head…"

"O-oi...are you okay?" Natsu asked in worry. His body, however, refused to move, still trembling and frozen from the fear he had just a few moments ago.

"Yajima-san," Chapati in his seat turned to the old man, "What is going on?"

"I...I'm not sure…"

"Get out…" Wendy continued to mumble as she backed all the way into a wall, using it as support to keep her up.

* * *

On the floor near Natsu, the unconscious body of Sting Eucliffe began to slowly move, while Rogue's was still knocked out cold.

 _'What's...going on…?'_ the blond looked around, slowly taking in his surroundings. He then saw Wendy, up against the wall, hearing her whisper 'Get out'.

"Wen...dy…" he forced himself up onto his feet. With only one eye open and blood dripping down his head, the teen limped his way toward the girl, ignoring the pain his body was giving him from Laxus's attack earlier in the battle.

And when he was just a few feet away from the girl the Sky Dragon Slayer began to shout.

"Get out! Get out of my head!" she repeated over and over.

"Wendy…"

A gust of wind passed between the two, knocking the injured Sting over.

"GET OUT!"

Sting looked up at the lacrima vision that the Games' officials had placed near them, seeing that the camera was now pointed at Rufus, Doranbolt, and Carla. Both Rufus and Doranbolt had golden eyes and fingers placed on their temples while the human Carla was looking down the hole in the ground worriedly.

 _'What the hell is going o-'_

Before he could even finish his thoughts, Sting saw Wendy's body go unconscious as her mind finally gave in to its inner turmoil. With his quick reflexes, Sting swiftly caught the girl, holding her knocked out body in his arms as the entire arena was still silent.

After a few long moments, the sound of a throat being cleared was heard through the speakers, shattering the silence.

"Um…" Chapati trailed off, his tone no longer excited, "I'm not quite sure what happened down there...but...Natsu Dragneel is the last one standing. After approximately 45 minutes, the winner of this battle is Fairy Tail."

 **Fairy Tail +10**

No one clapped. No one cheered. No one made a single sound. Everyone just kept their eyes glued onto the screen as the camera now pointed at Sting holding Wendy.

Natsu, now fully recovered from his fear, had a single look on his face. His eyes were black and his hair created a shadow over the entire top half of his face. Veins were popping out everywhere over his body as he looked up the hole.

"JIIIIEEEEEEMMAAAAA!" Natsu broke the silence, crying out the man's name with an animalistic howl. As if on cue, the camera on the screen switched to the view of the obviously upset Sabertooth master. All Jiemma could do was stare, his magical aura so strong and scary that it caused the other seats around him to be cleared from their previous occupants.

* * *

The fourth day of the annual Grand Magic Games came to a close. As Wendy was rushed to the infirmary, where Porlyusica has volunteered to take care of the girl, Fairy Tail enjoyed its rather... _odd_ victory.

The first thing that members of Fairy Tail and Sabertooth (except for Minerva and Jiemma) did was burst into the infirmary, quickly overcrowding it as everyone wanted to see what happened to Wendy.

The other 5 Dragon Slayers had injuries that were much easier to heal, the worst being Sting and Rogue's burns from the electrocution Laxus gave them.

With both Doranbolt and Rufus constantly trying to fix the girl's mind, Porlyusica subsequently kicked out everyone else, save for her inseparable partner, Carla.

"I'm not leaving her," Sting immediately argued, Rogue right behind him, nodding along with him. "I refuse to."

"Right now, you can't do anything for her," Porlyusica told the boy, "You're just going to be a distraction to Doranbolt and Rufus."

"I don't care. I'm not leaving this room until she's okay again."

"It will take a lot of time to properly reconstruct her memories," Rufus told the boy, "It is very easy to manipulate and destroy memories, but it is unexplainably hard to fix them."

"I'll wait as long as I have to."

"You have a tournament to participate in," the old lady argued back.

"Screw the Games," Sting said without thought, "Compared to Wendy's condition, they're useless!"

And it was at that moment that Jiemma's hanging influence over Sting completely shattered. Just a few hours ago, Sting's number one priority was to win the Games for the sake of pride in the guild. Now, he was actually showing care and concern for his comrades, a feeling he had forgotten.

Rogue placed his hand on Sting's shoulder, holding back the boy who looked just about ready to hit something.

"Let's just do what she says, Sting. Besides, I'm sure Master wants to see us soon."

Sting reluctantly agreed with his brotherly figure, the two walking out of the room to let the two memory wizards focus.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the arena, Future Rogue and Yukino were walking down the street, making their way back to the palace to discuss with Hisui their plans regarding what Future Rogue called 'the Eclipse Gate'.

 _'Natsu Dragneel…'_ Future Rogue's thoughts began. _'It seems you have escaped destiny today. However, regardless of today's results, you are still fated to die. Just as Wendy is fated to kill.'_

* * *

 ** _As the Games begin to come to its close, fate begins to play its role in this story..._**

* * *

 **A/N: So Natsu Dragneel is the last one standing, but what will come of Wendy?**

 **Again, special thanks to Conbolt is Fire!**

 **And sorry for the wait...I had a busy Independence Day weekend...**

 **I wonder if you guys caught on to my subtle foreshadowing from ch 16 when Wendy used Infinity Winds for the first time...I didn't want to make it obvious that she was going to use it again lol**

 **If you read all the author's notes, add ";!" to the end of your review please ^-^ I like knowing who reads these.**


	22. The Aftermath

**A/N: And we're back with another chapter! Wow, it's chapter 22 already? I've never written a single story past chapter 10 XD**

 **With the big battle over, the Eclipse Gate is going to be slowly shifted into focus for the rest of the arc, just like in canon.**

 **To answer Firebender1217's question, yes, technically Carla's vision was nullified. She, Rufus, and Doranbolt pretty much prevented the future where Wendy kills Natsu in the battle. However, what Future Rogue said at the end of last chapter was kinda peculiar...**

 **Thanks to Conbolt is Fire for beta-ing this (is that a word? lol) and hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

The entire inn that housed the Sabertooth members was silent that night. Going there right after the battle, Jiemma locked himself in his room, too angry to even face his own guild.

While Wendy, Rufus, and Carla stayed in the infirmary (with Doranbolt and Porlyusica), everyone else was forced to go back.

No one said anything. They didn't even look at each other. They were shocked enough over Wendy's sudden loss of memories, but the fact that the Triple Dragons _failed_ their one and only battle this year made everything worse.

After a while, the only sounds that were heard were glass shattering everywhere inside Jiemma's room as everyone assumed that the man was going on a complete rampage inside it.

Sting and Rogue, along with their Exceed companions, went straight to their rooms on the top floor, not a single word from their racing thoughts escaping their lips.

* * *

On the morning of the next day, the news reporters were everywhere. With today being the Games' break day, this was their perfect opportunity to force guilds to hold impromptu press conferences, and both Sabertooth and Fairy Tail were the hot topics of the day.

Sting, hearing the paparazzi from the outside, decided to stay in his room, turning on the TV in there instead of facing them.

"With the end of the fourth day, Fairy Tail has all but completed their comeback and win the Games, holding a 3 point lead over the previous champions, Sabertooth!" Chapati's familiar voice sounded out the second Sting clicked the power button on the remote.

Chapati was away from his usual location, the judges' seats, and was now standing in front of the camera, a microphone in hand as he stood in front of the arena's entrance.

"In just a few moments, the Games' mascot and host, Mato, will hold a short press conference," he informed, "In the meantime…"

The camera zoomed out, revealing the small, elderly man next to the reporter.

"Yajima-san, what do you think the officials will say regarding yesterday's battle between Sabertooth and Fairy Tail?"

"Well, if you're referencing to Wendy-chan's so-called 'memory change', the rulebook never did say that a guild cannot manipulate its own members."

"And what about the end of the battle? With Wendy's likely winning spell being interrupted?"

"That is iffy. Wendy-chan was performing a spell that could kill some of the strongest wizards alive, so Rufus-kun and Doranbolt might have had a good enough reason to interfere. The officials are dealing with the issue of whether or not it was right for those two men to bring the battle to such an end. It's essentially an issue between morals and rules. The rulebook may say one thing, but the hearts of all the heroes in those guilds sometimes say another. It's a complex situation that I believe the officials will deal with correctly. As for my opinion, I don't expect Doranbolt to acquire any penalties. However, I can't say the same for Rufus-kun."

"Anything else to say about this particular issue the officials are dealing with?"

The camera zoomed in on Yajima as he gave his answer, "Whatever is going on inside that guild of tigers, I do not know. But, manipulating the mind of a 19 year-old girl... _risking_ her mental stability, is wrong. There is no aspect of it that seems morally right. But, I myself am not going to point fingers or anything of that sort. Sabertooth members themselves need to 'fess up and give everyone some answers."

The camera zoomed back out as Chapati moved the microphone back to right underneath his mouth.

"Alright. Now, everyone, please stay tuned because Mato's press conference in beginning shortly."

Sting clicked off the TV, quickly getting off his bed and changing into his normal clothes.

Letting Lector sleep in, Sting made his way over to Rogue's room next door. After knocking, he walked in, seeing that the Shadow mage was doing the same thing he was just earlier: watching the news.

"Wanna grab something to eat?" the blond asked, his tone sounding as if nothing had even happened the day before.

Both Rogue and Frosch greeted him with a loud shush, their eyes glued to the TV, which was showing Mato's press conference.

As Mato rambled on about what Sting viewed as 'boring, useless information', the teen couldn't help but notice the growing concern in Rogue and Frosch's faces.

"What happened?"

"They banned Rufus from participating this year."

"What? Why?"

"He interfered with the results of the match."

"Well that's just great," Sting rolled his eyes as he walked over to the two, his tone now sounding pissed off. "Rufus was banned before he even had a chance to participate. Now we don't have a fifth member to replace Wen...dy..."

Sting's words slowed down as he said the girl's name. His face went from irritated to concerned as he looked at Rogue.

"How do you think she's doing?"

"Based on the fact that Carla hasn't returned with any news, I don't think there's anything good to say…"

"Fro...thinks so too…"

The sound of someone knocking on Rogue's door echoed throughout the room, causing everyone to turn their heads toward the sound's source. Sting was the first to get up, grabbing the doorknob and opening it.

It was Dobengal, one of Sabertooth's top mages. Next to him was a now-awake Lector, worry all over the Exceed's face.

The ninja began to fix the mask covering his mouth as he spoke.

"Master's holding a guild meeting in 10 minutes. _Your_ attendance is especially required."

* * *

The radio was playing in the background of the infirmary, the audio from the press conference blaring throughout the room that was otherwise full of silence.

"After yesterday's battle portion of the Games, the officials have decided that Rufus Lore of Sabertooth is hereby banned from any participation in this year's tournament," Mato's voice radiated off.

Carla, Doranbolt, and Porlyusica's heads all turned to the teen, who was sitting on the chair next to Wendy's bed. His entire body was stiffened as it processed the words that came out of the radio's speakers.

The white Exceed from across the room was the first to speak. "Rufus-"

"It doesn't matter," the boy swiftly interrupted her, "Master was never going to put me in. And I'm probably going to be kicked out of the guild anyways."

"Yeah…" Carla turned to look at her unconscious companion, "Us too…"

"No offense, but your guild is really screwed up," Doranbolt commented from across the room, "I mean, what kind of guild master does this to his own members? Such a sweet, innocent girl, now left insane at the hands of a madman."

"Welcome to Sabertooth," Rufus mumbled, emotionless, before standing back up and looking at the Council worker. "We should get back to work."

"Right-"

 ** _*WHOOSH*_**

Suddenly, the entire room was engulfed in wind as everyone was flown back against the wall. Streams upon streams of wind were pulsing against them, holding every single one of them back. Medicines, papers, and the radio that was playing the press conference all spun around the room.

When they could finally manage to open their eyes, they could all see Wendy, who was now awake. The girl was holding her head, looking as if she was screaming, her noises drowned in the howls of the wind.

"W...Wendy…!" Carla choked out before coughing.

 _'Can't...breathe…'_

The high speed winds were creating a vortex in the room, sucking in all the oxygen. Porlyusica was the first to lose consciousness, followed by Rufus and Doranbolt. Carla could only watch as she saw the people around her pass out, looking back at Wendy, using all of her will to get to her, before ultimately falling, too. The last thing her eyes could see was the blue-haired girl running out of the room.

* * *

The entire inn was still silent, the tension rising ever so high as Jiemma sat on his 'throne', looking at every single kneeling person in there, as if trying to pry into their souls.

"Rise."

Everyone listened to his command, slowly getting onto their feet.

Sting and Rogue were at the front of the group, their Exceed companions next to them. There was a huge gap between them and the rest of the guild members as everyone anticipated what would happen next.

"Sting...Rogue." Jiemma began, "What the hell was that yesterday?"

The two did not answer, knowing that doing so wouldn't result in anything good.

"You two are Third Generation Dragon Slayers. A power that _I_ gave you. Do you not remember that?"

Silence.

"And you two were disgracefully beaten up, and by the less-powerful Second and First Generation...of all other people."

The silence was now deafening.

"Are you even listening to me?!"

Rogue was the first to muster up the courage to speak.

"I have no words," he answered, "We were defeated. There's no other way at looking at it. Laxus managed to defeat us in one blow even though we had used our most powerful spell on him."

Jiemma stood up, throwing a bottle at the boy, barely missing as the bottle skidded across the side of Rogue's head. He then marched to the two, his feet stomping so hard that the ground underneath him cracked.

"Are those the words of a wizard from Sabertooth, the strongest guild?!" he yelled, his voice echoing throughout the room as it reached the same volume he had when he had kicked out Yukino. "Who the hell told you guys to go out there and look like a pair of pathetic fools?! Who told you to _fail_?!"

Rogue didn't reply, only staring at the ground in shame.

"ANSWER ME!" Jiemma roared out as his body became engulfed in a purple aura. The man's magic power began to rise to high levels as anger pulsed through his veins.

The immense power blew both Sting and Rogue back against the side walls, Lector and Frosch both running opposite ways to help their best friends as they yelled out their names.

Jiemma, however, was too quick for the Exceeds, running and throwing Sting further into the wall before moving across the room to hit Rogue. The two Dragon Slayers spat out blood from their mouths as their Master continued to beat them up.

With every shout Jiemma grabbed one of the two teens and threw them further into the wall. "Wipe them! Wipe your guild crests off! My guild doesn't need people like you! You bastards aren't fit to be members of Sabertooth! Not you, not your cats, not Rufus, and most definitely not that stupid girl!"

At that, Sting grabbed Jiemma's approaching fist, holding the man from throwing him again and shouting, "Shut up!"

The other members of the guild were taken aback by Sting's protest, looks of shock growing on most of their faces.

Sting continued his rant back at the man, "You completely messed her up! You ruined her head and now she's stuck with an unstable, unpredictable mind while Rufus and Doranbolt have to fix whatever the _fuck_ you did to her!"

As Sting yelled, drops of spit began to fly into Jiemma's face as the blond continued his shouting.

"You're no master! You think you can just stomp all over us and make us listen to you through fear?!" Sting then ignited his free hand with light, "Well, _Jiemma_ , I'm not afraid of you anymore!"

 _"Gah!"_ Sting shut his eyes as a spray of blood puffed into his face. The immense magical aura suddenly dispersed as Jiemma's eyes widened and his arms fell limp to his side. His large body then slumped head first into the wall next to Sting. He watched as his master's face slowly slid down the wall until...

Jiemma was on the ground, lifeless.

The man's body had become limp, falling out of Sting's grip. It took a while for Sting's brain to register it, but when he looked at the ground, he saw Jiemma's body now bleeding from his head, with a hole going right through it, right where the man had the Sabertooth mark imprinted onto his skin.

"...huh?"

With all the adrenaline pumping through him, Sting couldn't piece together what had happened right away. However, when he looked at the group of Sabertooth members, everything made sense.

In the back of the crowd, a single girl stood. Her dark blue hair was in a messy, tangled ponytail, and bandages were all over her body. She wore a torn red leather jacket and black leggings with holes in them. Her dark brown eyes were surrounded by large, red veins. Her right arm was out, pointed right where Jiemma was standing. The palm of her hand was surrounded by a red wind, which then disappeared into thin air.

Everyone's eyes grew in shock as they realized what happened.

Wendy had killed Jiemma.

* * *

The inn that housed Fairy Tail was in immense cheers, as if the party from last night that was celebrating the victory of the Dragon Slayers never ceased.

The only person who wasn't celebrating, however, was none other than the one who delivered the winning attack: Natsu Dragneel.

He had tried to go to the infirmary earlier that morning to check on Wendy, but was shut out by Carla, the girl afraid that Wendy would try to kill him again if he let himself be seen by her. And while everyone else in the guild trusted that she would be okay soon, Natsu still had an uneasy feeling.

"Natsu," Lucy leaned onto the table to grab the teen's attention. Behind her, many brawls were happening between the very drunk guild members, chairs, bottles, and barrels being tossed everywhere. "Why are you acting like that? You're never one to brood."

"Carla didn't let me check on Wendy," he answered honestly, "And don't think Wendy's going to be better anytime soon."

"You have a point, but you have to remember that Wendy's more than willing to kill you in her current state of mind. Who knows what'll happen if she sees you or anyone else from Fairy Tail?"

Natsu wasn't moved by the girl's explanation, simply going back to staring into space.

"C'mon Natsu," Happy joined the conversation as he hopped onto the table Natsu was at, "Lighten up! You won a match against the strongest team of Sabertooth!"

"And you got us into first place," Erza added as she and Gray approached the three.

"And you escaped death-Hey! What was that for?" Gray turned to Lucy, who had elbowed him in his (bare) side from his comment.

Natsu remembered those moments from yesterday, flashbacks of Wendy's most powerful spell nearly killing him going through his mind.

Before he could go back into his brooding state, Lucy quickly said, "Today's meant for celebration. We're on the verge of winning!"

She grabbed Natsu's arm, forcing the guy up onto his feet. As he got up, both Gajeel and Laxus walked up to him.

"We're all just as worried as you," Laxus reminded him.

"Yeah. But we've got faith in her, Salamander. You should, too."

Natsu reluctantly nodded, pushing back the concern and immediately getting fired up, ready to join in with the brawl to cheer himself up.

"He's back to his old self again," Lucy smiled, simply shaking her head as she saw him begin to attack Elfman.

"It was only a matter of time," Gray pointed out, "He is Natsu, after all."

In midst of all the fighting going around (in which Erza was just about ready to intervene and stop it all), a single person awkwardly made their way through, trying their hardest not get hit by anything flying by them.

"Who's that?" Lucy asked as she spotted the man walking toward them. The man was wearing a blue and yellow soldier uniform with Fiore's symbol on the armor.

While Gray shrugged, Erza gave Lucy an answer.

"That's one of the kingdom's guards. I can tell by his uniform."

"What's a palace guard doing here?" Gray wondered as he stared at the man.

The guard approached the three, bowing in courtesy as he greeted them.

"My apologies for intruding," he began, "But I have an order from Sergeant Aguria. She requests that you meet her in the palace as soon as possible."

"Sergeant Aguria?" Lucy didn't recognize the name, "Don't tell me...is that Yukino?!"

The guard nodded.

"She's part of the military now?!" Gray asked in as much shock as Lucy was in.

Again, they were met with another nod.

"Why does she want to see _me_?" The blonde wondered, to which the guard just shrugged.

"She said it was urgent. If you are free now, I can escort you myself or have a guard pick you up when you are ready."

Since it was Yukino, Lucy _had_ to trust her. She's not the type of girl to go around lying or anything of that sort. Without much thought, Lucy looked at the guard, "I'll go now."

* * *

To say that the palace was huge was the biggest understatement Lucy could think of. Yeah, it _was_ huge but there really was no word to explain its size.

And after a lengthy walk through probably 3 flights of stairs, Lucy made it to a large room that was full of tables that were filled with endless amounts of food.

"W-whoa…" she stuttered at the various delicious dishes inside the dining hall.

"I'm glad you could make it, Lucy-sama," Yukino's innocent voice sounded from behind Lucy. The girl turned around, seeing Yukino in a full-blown soldier outfit, the blue and yellow stripes identical to the one that the guards have.

Behind Yukino was a very familiar jade-haired woman. At the sight of her, Lucy began to freak out, beginning to sweat nervously.

"Y-Y-Yukino, is that the _princess_ behind you!?"

Yukino let out a small laugh, "This _is_ the royal palace, Lucy-sama…"

Hisui took a few steps forward, extending her arm out to the girl.

"Hisui E. Fiore. Pleased to meet you, Lucy Heartfilia."

Lucy shook the girl's hand, "Y-you too, Princess…"

The three girls took a seat at the table. While Lucy already had breakfast at the inn, Yukino and Hisui began to eat. Awkward silence was slowly filling the room as Lucy watched the girls eat.

"Uh..." Lucy nervously trailed off, "I'm not trying to sound rude or anything, but why am I here?"

At that, Hisui began to explain, "A source from the future has informed us about an attack, and we need your help to defend the world." she said rather blatantly.

Lucy blinked a few times before she responded, "Wait, what? Someone from the future? H-how?"

"It's a long story," Yukino responded, "But I can vow that this person is trustworthy."

"And this attack you speak of...?"

"Again, a long story," Hisui answered, "But it involves...dragons."

"Dragons?!"

"I understand how out-of-the-blue it is, but your help is necessary, Lucy-sama."

"Why me?"

"To defend the attack of the dragons, we plan to use what we call the Eclipse Gate," Hisui stated, "It is a gate that uses Celestial magic. All 12 Zodiacs must be present so that the gate will open. It will produce a cannon to defend the attack of the dragons."

"And after the dragons are defeated," Yukino added, "We will use the remaining Celestial magic stored to travel 400 years back in time...and defeat Zeref."

This was a lot to take in, and not just for Lucy. Anyone would be shocked at this somewhat outrageous plan that Hisui and Yukino had created. Defending against the dragons is somewhat reasonable, but going back to defeat Zeref?

Even if it was Yukino and the princess, this was too much. The plan was so sudden, and didn't have much detail to it. And because this plan involved her spirits, her _friends_ of all things, Lucy had no choice.

"I'm...I'm very sorry. I can't agree to this."

Both Hisui and Yukino's eyes widened in shock.

"W-why?" Yukino asked as she herself tried to comprehend Lucy's answer.

"It's not you guys or anything...but...time travel? Defeating Zeref? That's...that's too far. I'm sorry."

"Princess Hisui," a guard from the back called out to the girl, disrupting the tension between the two sides, "You have a phone call."

Hisui nodded, standing up. "Please excuse me." And she walked out of the room.

After a few moments of silence, Lucy looked at Yukino, who was now looking down.

"I'm so sorry Yukino. I'm sure that there is another weapon to use against the dragons. And there's Dragon Slayers here. They'll help fight them. Please, try to understa-"

Yukino, lightly grabbed Lucy's hands into her own before she stood up, looking Lucy right in her brown eyes.

"Please, Lucy-sama, but I'm afraid you don't understand the effect the plan will have. Do you have any idea how many people were affected just because of Zeref and his legacy? How many slaves were taken? How many families were broken up…? How many sisters were…" her voice choked up for a second but she kept talking, "Your friend Erza-sama was a slave at the Tower of Heaven. That was created for the sake of Zeref. Everything that your friends have suffered from is likely connected to Zeref. Tell me, do you wish to not help prevent them from those horrible experiences?"

Lucy was speechless at Yukino's argument. She had a good point, but still…

"My answer stands. It's a no. I'm very sorry." Lucy stood up and slowly took her hands out of Yukino's hold, "I'll show myself out."

"I'm afraid…" Yukino whispered, "I cannot take no for an answer."

"Eh?"

"For the sake of Sorano-oneesama... for the sake of my friends having a safe future...I cannot let the Eclipse plan fail."

"Yukino…?"

Yukino looked up, her face now covered in the shadow of her hair.

"I'm sorry, Lucy-sama, but if you won't let us use your keys...then I'm afraid I must have to take them…" she slowly lifted a golden key, placing its tip near her mouth as she prepared to open its gate.

"...through force."

* * *

 ** _In order to change the sorrowful past, Yukino raises her keys into an unlikely battle..._**

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you guys are okay with how I am changing things from canon and that Lucy vs Yukino makes sense.**

 **Wendy killing Jiemma seems to fit Future Rogue's take on fate and destiny, so what will this mean for Natsu?**

 **And do you guys like those sentences I add at the end of the chapter? The ones that are bolded, italicized, and underlined? I use them to kinda hype up the next chapter, but I don't know if you guys like it or not. Let me know!**

 **As per traditon, please add ":L" at the end of your review if you read this A/N! Ooo and tell me if you've played Pokemon Go and what team you're on! #GoTeamInstinct :P**

 **Anyways, see you guys in the next chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters**


	23. Lucy vs Yukino

**A/N: Hello everyone! I am back! (Sorta...)**

 **Sorry for the long wait...writers' block always gets me.**

 **If any of the formatting seems off, sorry! I'm on vacation and I'm using my cousin's ablet to post this.**

 **Thanks to Conbolt is Fire for betareading this!**

* * *

 **"Open, Gate of the Heavenly Scales,"**

"W-wait a second," Lucy held her hands out, frantically shaking them to try and stop the white-haired girl, "Yukino-"

 **"Libra."**

The sound of a gate opening echoed in the room as Libra appeared from a magic circle.

"What is your command, master?" the woman asked.

"Attack her," Yukino instructed, a tint of cold in her tone.

"Are you sure?"

Yukino and Lucy locked eyes for a second before the girl responded.

"Yes."

* * *

"Rufus, wake up!" The memory mage was greeted with a hard slap across the face, causing his eyes to snap open. He quickly sat up, looking around at the now heavily damaged infirmary.

He looked up, seeing the human Carla standing over him. He then inspected the rest of the floor, seeing both Doranbolt and Porlyusica still knocked out.

"Carla...what happened?" he scratched his head.

"We have to find Wendy!" the girl grabbed his arm and pulled him up, dragging him out of the room and through the arena's tunnels, out into the city.

The girl's pull on him was so strong that his legs were swept up off the ground as winds blew into his face.

When he finally was able to get his legs onto the ground and begin running for himself, he confusedly asked the Exceed running next to him, "What's going on?! Where are we going?!"

"We're heading to Crocus Gardens!"

"The inn? Why there? I thought we were looking for We-"

"We are," she quickly responded, "I have a feeling she'll be there...I don't know why she's there, but since I can't seem to get a premonition, I'm going to have to trust this instinct!"

"Can you slow down a bit?" the teen huffed, out of breath and sweat quickly dripping down his face.

"With Wendy's current state, she almost killed someone. I can't let her do that again!"

* * *

Sting could only stare at the sight in front of him. As he looked at the girl across the room, the sight of the lifeless Jiemma was still in his peripheral vision, sending chills down his spine as blood continued to spew out of the man's head.

"Oh my god…" was all his voice could say from the big sea of thoughts his mind was having.

"Frosch, don't look!" Rogue instinctively grabbed the crying green Exceed, cradling him in his arms and hiding him from the horrid sight.

Sting took one step toward the motionless Wendy. She was staring at the ground, looking dazed and stupefied as all eyes landed on her.

And suddenly, with a loud thump, she, too, fell on the ground.

"W-Wendy!" Sting snapped out of his daze and worriedly cried out her name, running towards her body.

"She's just knocked out," Minerva spoke up, "I used Territory to make her pass out."

Sting looked at the woman, just now realizing how much this probably meant to her. "Milady...your father-"

"Was obviously weak if he fell down after just one hit," she coldly interrupted.

Sting remained silent, gently picking up the knocked out Wendy and standing up with her in his arms.

"She's a lot stronger than she lets on," Minerva admitted, "Perhaps she would make a fine guild master."

"What are you talking about?"

"While my father's plan seemed... _drastic_ , to say the least, it really brought out Wendy's true power. A power stronger than even my father."

"But look at her now, milady...she's-"

"That wasn't _directly_ because of my father. That was thanks to Rufus and that Councilman's interference with the plan. While I liked Wendy as she was before, the one my father 'created' put up a better fight than you and Rogue combined. _She_ would have put Sabertooth back on top, and Fairy Tail back in its place."

Sting opened his mouth to protest the woman, but was cut off by a sudden shout from the inn's entrance.

"What the hell happened?!" the voice yelled. Everyone's heads snapped to the source of the voice, seeing it belonging to none other than Wendy's closest companion in the world: Carla. Next to her was a wide eyed Rufus, whose eyes were staring right at Jiemma's bloody body.

* * *

"Libra, alter Lucy-sama's gravity."

Libra nodded at her owner's commands, shifting her stance as a green aura emitted around both her and Lucy.

Lucy went to move away, but her legs refused to listen. With Libra making her gravity too hard to move, she was stuck.

And open for an attack.

 **"Open, Gate of the Paired Fish: Pisces."**

The two huge fish came flying out of their gate and right at Lucy. Unable to move, the girl took the hit head-on from the two, screaming out in pain as she flew back toward the wall.

Plates of food flew everywhere as the battle began between the two girls.

"I'm sorry, Lucy-sama, but I require your keys," Yukino whispered as she turned her head toward Libra.

"Libra, alter her gravity again so she's stuck against the wall."

"As you wish," the spirit nodded, beginning to make both her and Lucy's body's glow green as she activated her magic.

Lucy tried her hardest to move, but was still unsuccessful.

"Pisces," Yukino cued the two fish.

The two fish flew up into the air, doing a few spins and turns in the air before charging right at Lucy once more.

Lucy closed her eyes as she prepared for the hit that would likely knock her out.

 **"Regulus Impact!"**

A bright light shone from in front of Lucy, blinding everyone and forming a lion's head as it attacked the two fish.

"Loke…" Lucy trailed off as she looked at the man in front of her, who was donning his usual tuxedo as his eyes shone brightly from his power.

"Your prince has arrived," he gave a small smile before jumping up into the air to attack Pisces once more.

Now able to move thanks to Loke's attack affecting everyone, Lucy got off of the wall and grabbed her keys.

 _'Spirits should never fight other spirits…'_ Lucy's conscience began to speak to her, _'I can't...I can't let them fight again…'_

Releasing her hold on her keys, Lucy grabbed her whip from its holster, extending it and running toward Yukino.

"Loke, go home! I can handle this myself!" Lucy told the lion spirit.

"Are you crazy?! If I hadn't interfered you would be defeated already!"

"I'm...I'm not letting you fight another one of your kind again..." Lucy guiltily retaliated.

"And I'm supposed to let _you_ fight one of _your_ kind with no help whatsoever?" he argued back.

Lucy was silent for a moment as she lessened her distance to Yukino and Libra.

"Fine…"

* * *

"What the hell happened?!" Carla exclaimed in absolute shock as she looked at the scene in front of her.

No one answered, unable to find to words to explain what occurred in front of their eyes.

Carla locked eyes with Sting, expecting him to be the one to come out of the silence. However, it was Minerva of all people.

"Wendy showed my father her true strength," she blatantly explained, causing Carla to gasp.

"Wendy...did...that?" she looked over to Jiemma's corpse, which was still bleeding out everywhere. She turned back to Sting, "Is this true…?"

"Unfortunately...yes…" he sighed, looking at Wendy in his arms, "She protected Rogue and I from Master's wrath…"

"Why did she come here of all places...? Her mind is all over the place...she shouldn't have the slightest sense of what she's doing..." Rufus mumbled next to Carla as he kept staring at Jiemma's body, drops of sweat falling from his head as the man who gave him so much fear was reduced to practically nothing.

Hearing Rufus's quiet words, Rogue stood up, still holding Frosch in his arms as he answered, "Because her primal instincts told her to. Above all else, she came here to protect us...because that's just how she is. She'll always put the lives of a comrade ahead of anyone else's…"

Rogue looked at Wendy's unconscious body, "No matter how long she's been in this guild...she'll always be a Fairy, huh? She'll always be someone who cares about her comrades like there's no tomorrow…"

Moments of silence passed between everyone as they all comprehended Rogue's words.

"That doesn't necessarily make her a Fairy," Sting disagreed, "It makes her a good person. Something this guild lacks a lot of."

More silence passed through the guild.

"We should take her back to the infirmary," Carla spoke up, "She needs to continue to be healed."

Sting nodded, handing her off to Rufus. Other members of the guild began to shuffle around, cleaning up the mess that was made around them, all of them avoiding dealing with Jiemma's body.

"Rufus," Sting whispered to the teen as he gave him Wendy, "I need you to do me a favor."

"What is it?"

"I know you probably don't want to...but I need you to mess with her memories one last time after you heal her."

Rufus gave a confused look, "Are you crazy? Her mind's had enough-"

"If she remembers that she _killed_ someone...she'll never forgive herself. Killing goes against all things Grandeeney taught her, and if she remembers that…then she'll think she's tainting her mother's legacy. Make her think _I_ killed Jiemma," Sting explained, "I know it seems like a bad idea but...I need you to trust me."

Rufus silently contemplated Sting's plan for a few moments before nodding, "Understood."

"Thank you."

* * *

 **"Regulus Impact!"** Loke chanted as he sent more streams of light at Pisces. The two fish both dodged, coming straight at the lion spirit.

"It's been a long time since we met, ruler of the 12 Gates," the mother fish spoke to him, slowly circling around him as her son, the black fish, circled around the opposite way.

"You're right," Loke agreed with a cold voice, "I still remember you painfully rejecting me like it was just yesterday."

The mother fish gave a small chuckle before flying with her son back up into the air and above Loke. The two fish swirled around each other before turning back around to hit Loke head on.

 **"Regulus Gatling Impact!"** Loke shouted as an even brighter light shone from his rings. He proceeded to punch both fish in the air and into the ceiling.

The two fish's bodies began to glow a bright gold before being sent back to the Spirit World to recover, earning Loke a victory.

Loke looked over to Lucy, who was not sharing the same luck as he was against her two opponents. While Libra used her gravity magic to keep Lucy still, Yukino attacked the girl.

Lucy, still sore from her injuries from Minerva, screamed in pain from Yukino's attacks.

"Lucy!" Loke yelled out in worry.

When she saw the spirit begin to make his way toward them, Yukino lifted another key. This time, it was silver.

 **"Open, Gate of the Little Lion…"**

"Wha…" Loke's eyes widened as he heard the girl's words, "...how did you-"

 **"Leo Minor."**

The gate opening sounded out as a figure appeared from a magic circle. The outline of it was that of a small boy, with ears popping out of his spiky hair. As the spirit revealed its full body, it could be seen wearing a suit with a dark blue tie, orange spiky hair, and rings around his fingers. His body looked like he could be 12-13 years old.

"He looks like a tiny Loke…" Lucy observed in shock.

"It's been awhile," the new spirit smirked, his voice sounding much like Loke's himself, " _cousin_."

Loke gritted his teeth. "Since when did you get a key, _Leonard_?"

"When you were banished from the Spirit World all those years ago," the young spirit answered, "I was next in line to take over your title."

"Too bad I came back then, eh?"

"Exactly," the boy nodded before launching himself at Loke, the two of them beginning their own fight together.

 _'Now even family is fighting each other…'_ Lucy's thoughts trailed off.

"Have you no shame for putting spirits against each other?!" Lucy looked at Yukino, anger now filling her voice.

"Have you no shame for letting the world end?" Yukino coldly responded at the girl.

Lucy looked over to Loke as he and his cousin exchanged light attacks with each other. Even though he was just a silver key, Loke's cousin's attacks looked as if they were on par with his.

 _'I'm sorry, Loke...but I'm not letting you fight your own family…'_

"Loke, forced gate closure!" Lucy yelled out. Loke let out a small gasp as his body was engulfed in light, slowly going back to the Spirit World.

"Don't, Lucy…!" Loke yelled back, trying his hardest to escape Lucy's command. However, he was unsuccessful. The light engulfed him as he disappeared back into the Spirit World.

Yukino gave a confused look at Lucy. She not only was refusing to call out other spirits, but now she sent back Loke, too?

"I never took you as a fool, Lucy-sama…" Yukino whispered to herself.

"Leonard, go back home," Yukino said in response to Lucy's actions, seeing no more use for him anymore. The silver spirit nodded, doing as told.

"Libra, pin her to the wall," Yukino instructed. The spirit listened without hesitation, sending Lucy, who was standing in the middle of the large room, flying back toward the wall, which cracked from all the force.

"I'll finish this in one go," Yukino assured, pulling out an all-too-familiar black key from her pocket.

"No...please…!" Lucy begged as she knew what was going to happen next. After seeing that spirit in the battle against Kagura, Lucy knew that she had no chance against it.

 **"Open..."**

"Yukino, please! Think about what you're doing!"

 **"Gate of the Snake Charmer…"**

"You're already on the King's watch list...if you keep this up…"

 **"Ophiuch-"**

"Do you want to lose your spirits for good?!" Lucy yelled at the top of her lungs, causing Yukino to flinch, stopped her spell.

Yukino's eyes went wide as she took in Lucy's words. Losing her spirits…?

 _'That's right…'_ Yukino thought to herself, _'It felt like ages ago when Ophiuchus told me about that...I can't lose them…'_

Yukino clenched her fists, grasping tightly on Ophiuchus's key.

 _'But if I fix the past...will it be worth it? I'd give anything to save my sister…'_

"I know...I know how it feels…" Lucy trailed off, tears forming in her eyes as painful memories resurfaced, "How it feels...to want to fix everything…"

Lucy looked up at the girl, her body still stuck to the wall.

"But everything that my friends went through...everything that they've persevered through...it made them who they are today."

Yukino remained silent.

"If Zeref were to die 400 years ago...he never would have created demons...and then Gray's parents would have never died," Lucy began to explain, "And while I want Gray and his family to be okay...he would have never met his teacher and learn ice magic...and never become a wizard. And probably never join Fairy Tail."

Lucy's voice became shaky as she continued, "And Erza would have never been in the Tower of Heaven. And while I think she never deserved any of that...she would have never learned her magic either…"

A single tear fell from her eye as the girl kept talking, "And me...if Zeref never appeared on Tenrou, maybe Acnologia wouldn't have either...and then I would be able to spend the last 7 years with my dad...and while I want to see my dad again...not at the cost of my friends…"

"L-Lucy-sama…" Yukino whispered, "I…"

"I know what it's like to want to see someone dear to you again, Yukino. To want to do anything for just one more chance to see them again. But you can't risk your entire life...maybe even your _existence_ for that...you just need faith that everything will work out okay."

"I…"

"Please, Yukino...don't let them go through with the Eclipse Plan." Lucy let out one last plea.

"But the 10,000 dragons-"

"If there's no other defense, then I will aid in that. But even then, that's what Dragon Slayers are for, right?"

Yukino was silent for a moment before agreeing, "Yeah. With Rogue-sama's strength it is at, we should be able to hold off some of the dragons. I will contact the princess and see other options. Until then…" Yukino held up Libra's key, "Libra, you can return home now."

Libra nodded, releasing Lucy from her gravity magic and disappearing back into the Spirit World.

"Thank you," Lucy sighed in relief, "Thank you…"

"I should have never fought you. I'm sorry, Lucy-sama."

"No, it's okay," the blonde assured, giving a beaming smile, "I understand why you did. You're very brave for that. Your sister would be proud."

"Thanks, Lucy-sama-"

 _"Kya!"_

Streams of black flew into the room from behind Yukino, travelling at a speed too fast for Lucy to react. Lucy let out a small scream as she was sent flying back to the wall, the black streams tieing her to it.

"Lucy-sama!" Yukino yelled out, turning around to see where the attack came from.

"W-what is this?" Lucy looked at the material that wrapped itself around her wrists and ankles. She observed its silk-like touch, its deep black color, and how thin it was. It was like…

"Shadows…?"

Lucy looked back to Yukino, seeing a figure come out from behind her. It was a man in high-collared robes, wearing his long, white hair in a ponytail and having black bangs cover his eye. A mark on his left cheek wrapped itself around his eye.

"Who are you?" Lucy asked, the fear in her voice apparent.

The man cracked an evil grin.

"I have you now," he declared, "Lucy Heartfilia."

* * *

Back at Fairy Tail's inn, the partying was slowly beginning to die down as the brawl slowed down, many members either too hurt or too tired to continue.

Tired from fighting, Natsu and Gray stood at the doorway, accompanied by Erza and Happy. The 4 stood at a table near the doorway, conversing with each other as they awaited Lucy's return.

"For the last time, Natsu," Gray sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance, "You can't try eating the iron in the table and expect to get Gajeel's magi-"

"Ooh~!" Natsu's head whipped up, his nose twitching and his eyes lighting up, "Smells like Lucy's back!"

Everyone then looked out the doorway, seeing a figure in the distance.

"Your nose really is impressive, Natsu," Happy complimented in awe after seeing how far the figure was.

However, as the figure got closer, it became more and more unrecognizable for the group.

"You sure that's Lucy?" Gray asked, "Lucy's never one to wear cloaks."

"Smells just like her," Natsu shrugged, "She's probably trying to scare us. She's never good at pranks."

The figure continued to make its way to the inn, its appearance becoming easier to detect. Their shoes indicated that it was a woman from the sandals. She was wearing a hooded black cloak with gold accents. Her face, however, was hidden underneath the shadow of the hood.

"Don't let your guard down," Erza whispered, "I sense something off about her magic aura. She might be the person Jellal and Crime Sorcière are looking for."

"No," Natsu shook his head, "It's Lucy. I'm sure of it."

Light hit the mysterious woman, thinning the shadow on her face and allowing her hair to be seen by everyone. Her hair was blonde, just like Lucy's.

"See? I told you!" Natsu claimed, "Yo, Lucy!"

The woman was slightly taken aback at Natsu's greeting. Her body gave off a slight shiver and her lip quivered.

"Natsu…" she trailed off.

"Guess he was right," Gray commented after hearing her voice.

"What's with the cloak, Lucy?" Erza inquired.

The woman lifted the cloak off her head, revealing the familiar face to the group.

"Everyone…" she whispered.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asked as the group walked outside to meet up with her.

"I need your guys' help," Lucy claimed.

"Of course we'll help you," Natsu assured, "What's up?"

"I need you guys to help me…save _me_ …"

* * *

 _ **After Lucy's capture, the person to come and rescue her is...herself?**_

* * *

 **A/N: I really love going off the canon route, don't I...**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter ^-^**

 **To answer 'Guest's question, yes I have considered OC stories. I'm currently not focusing on any for development (I have a few in mind) but I don't really have the motive to actually write them XD.**

 **Again, thank you all for your kind reviews *^* they really make my day.**

 **As per tradition, add ':z" to your reviews if you read the author's notes, and have a lovely day!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters.**


	24. A Visitor from a Broken Future

**A/N: Alright, time for a new chapter! Sorry for all the delays recently. I've been busy.**

 **Unfortunately, this is not the end of the delays...school for me starts Wednesday ;-;. This year is going to be the most important for me, because I'm officially a junior in high school and all of the colleges are going to be watching me...**

 **I will try to update once every two weeks, but I can't promise that. But, I _will_ promise that I will eventually complete this story! The only thing I can ask you guys to do is stay patient with me!**

 **Thanks to Conbolt is Fire for beta-reading this and now onto the next chapter!**

* * *

"We're going to the palace right now!" Natsu roared out loudly, using every bit of his strength to get out of the hold of the guild's strongest guys, who were all grabbing onto him, keeping him from moving. Gajeel and Elfman took hold of the fire mage's right arm while Laxus and Gray grabbed onto his left.

"You're not the only one who wants to go, Natsu!" Gray grunted out as his grip on Natsu began to loosen, "But this is the palace we're talkin' about here!"

"Palace or not," Natsu muttered as he desperately lunged his body forward to free himself from his comrades' hold, "They have Lucy! They have one of us!"

10 Minutes Earlier

"I need you guys to help me...save _me_ …"

Everyone in front of the woman blinked a few times before they all let out a confused, "Eh?"

The person who looked exactly like Lucy let out a small breath before responding in a small, almost weak voice. "I'm sorry…this is so sudden but this is very important…"

"Lucy," Erza walked up to the girl, "What are you talking about?"

She looked at her surroundings, seeing how packed the streets were around them. She quickly put her head down and walked into the guild's inn, the others quickly following her.

"Looks like blondie's back," Gajeel said from his seat, seeing the girl enter the room.

"Gajeel…" Lucy trailed off, her lip quivering slightly.

"How was your special trip, Lu-chan?" Levy called out from next to Gajeel.

"Levy-chan…"

"Oi, Lucy, your sense of fashion has really...erm…" Cana let out a drunken hiccup as she rubbed her chin, trying to come up with a word to explain her thoughts.

"Cana…"

"Lucy, you okay…?" Gray quietly asked, seeing the woman on the verge of tears as more and more of their comrades welcomed her back,

"Where's Master?" she asked, swiftly avoiding Gray's question and removing any shake in her voice.

"I'm right here," Makarov's voice sounded out from the back of the room, somehow able to hear her from the noisy crowd. The old man put down his cup of beer and looked over to Lucy. The group, led by Lucy, walked over to the man that was sitting on the counter.

' _This aura emitting off of her…'_ Makarov's thoughts trailed off.

"Master," Lucy greeted him, "I know this is sudden, but-"

"Who are you?"

Makarov's sudden interruption caught everyone off guard. As the people behind her all gasped, Lucy looked down.

"So, you noticed," she whispered.

Makarov nodded, "You're Lucy Heartfilia, but you're not the Lucy we were looking for, are you?"

The entire guild became silent as Makarov's words travelled to their ears. All eyes landed on the woman in the cloak.

"I...I come from...the future…"

At the sudden revelation, everyone let out a loud, "Eh?!" prompting the woman to tell her story. Her story that was full of sadness and despair. She told her story of how almost all of the people in the room were going to die in just 24 hours. And that she couldn't do anything about it because the entire time, she was locked up in a jail cell.

"After the battle between the Dragon Slayers...after Natsu's…" Future Lucy trailed off, cutting her sentence short along with the tears her eyes wanted to shed, "I was called to the palace. I was informed that my keys were needed to help with some plan. I refused...but I was captured and-"

Future Lucy was cut off by a loud stomp on the ground. She quickly looked up, only to see none other than Natsu. Her eyes widened as she looked at the boy, seeing his eyes full of life and determination as he declared, "I'm going to the palace right now save your past self!"

At that, the entire guild all went into a sudden panic mode, seeing the determination in his eyes. They all desperately tried to stop Natsu from getting them all arrested by blocking the entrance and holding the flame mage back by grabbing onto his arms.

And that's how the entire guild found themselves in their current situation.

But Natsu was not going to go down without a fight. Igniting his captured arms in flames, Natsu only hoped that the four guys holding him would let go as a result of his burning power.

"Natsu, please calm down…" Future Lucy tried to reason, but was ultimately ignored by the teen who only had one goal in mind.

Finally, Natsu got his arms free from their hold. Yelling, "Freedom!" Natsu darted his way toward the exit.

However, his yelling then turned into shrieking as a familiar silver plate of armor stood in front of him. Seeing the scarlet hair attached to the stern, scary face, Natsu immediately stopped running as he made eye contact with Erza.

"You're not going anywhere," Erza's terrifying tone spoke to the boy.

"A-aye!" Natsu practically saluted her, fear completely washing over him.

Both Future Lucy and Gray sweat dropped at the sight. "He's always going to be like this…" Lucy sighed.

"Agreed…" Gray sighed back.

"Anyways," Future Lucy continued her explanation, "I later found out that 10,000 dragons were unleashed onto our world. And I'm here to prevent that attack from happening."

"Wait, 10,000 dragons?!"

"Where did they come from?!"

"How did they get here?!"

The woman was met with an overwhelming amount of questions, to which she had no answer to them.

"I don't know," she simply replied. Her own painful memories from the attack resurfaced, causing her to become washed over with fear and sadness. "I was stuck in that stupid jail cell...and when the castle was eventually destroyed, it was too late to save anyone..."

The guild all became silent, allowing the woman to grieve over her painful memories.

After the silence passed, Natsu asked the girl, "Were Igneel and the other dragons there, too?"

Future Lucy sadly shook her head, "All the dragons that came...were nothing like the dragons you guys were raised by," she looked at Natsu and Gajeel, "They were...vile creatures. They hated humans. Murdered them like they were vermin."

"We'll stop 'em," Natsu gave his word to her, "Those dragons won't even get a chance to come back!"

She smiled at Natsu's confidence. _'Thank you...Natsu…'_

Makarov hopped off of the counter and into the center of the crowd, jumping onto the table to get everyone's attention.

"We will get Lucy back," Makarov promised, "And we will prevent dragons from attacking. But we need to strategize first."

And so, Fairy Tail's next mission was planned. With the help of the Fairy Tactician herself, the guild laid out a plan.

They would wait until tomorrow, the 5th and final day of the Games. With the palace so distracted with the Games, the guild would send a small group to go and sneak into the palace and get Lucy back, and help prevent the attack from 10,000 dragons.

* * *

The Next Day

"The Games are starting soon," Carla said as her eyes glanced at the clock in the infirmary, "I brought a lacrima vision to watch it." She pulled out a large, rectangular crystal from her bag, placing it on the stand on the table and turning it on.

Both Rufus and Doranbolt, taking a break from their repatching of Wendy's memories, looked over to the screen, seeing the arena appear on the screen.

"Who'd you guys put in for Wendy?" Doranbolt asked.

"Dobengal," Rufus answered, "He's pretty strong. Alongside the rest of the team, I don't recall if the other guilds have lineups that can rival ours."

"Lamia Scale still has Jura, and Kagura is definitely an issue," Carla babbled, "I can't get a vision as to how this day will end, but we can only have faith that they'll find a way to win."

"I believe in them," Rufus simply stated before going back to Wendy's mind. However, his voice contradicted his words. What was once filled with confidence and pride was now a voice so cold and emotionless.

 _'Without Wendy...will they even stand a chance against Fairy Tail?'_

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen," Chapati's voice boomed throughout the arena, "Today has finally come! It is July 7th, X791! The fifth and final day of the Grand Magic Games is about to begin!"

The standings were then shown across the screen:

 **Fairy Tail: 51 pts**

 **Sabertooth: 48 pts**

 **Mermaid Heel: 41 pts**

 **Lamia Scale: 40 pts**

"The fight for first is tight between Fairy Tail and Sabertooth, but don't look down on Mermaid Heel or Lamia Scale! These Games are far from over!"

"After the explosive battle from two days ago, I wonder how much momentum the Fairies have left," Yajima commented, "And how Sabertooth plans to recover from their loss."

"Here come the teams right now!" Chapati announced. "First up, the 2nd place guild for the last 5 years, can Lamia Scale finally make it to the top?"

Out came team Lamia Scale, wearing their usual clothes, which were redesigned to be dark green and white and had the guild emblem on the back. The team consisted of Lyon, Sherria, Toby, Jura, and a now-healed Yuka from his battle with Minerva.

"Tch, last place," Lyon muttered as he looked at the standings, "Not for long."

"And next, the powerful ladies from the coast! Will Mermaid Heel prove themselves this year?"

And now the 5 ladies entered, wearing their own team uniforms, which consisted of a light pink and white. The team had their usual lineup of Kagura, Millianna, Risley, Beth, and Araña.

Suddenly, cheers began to grow louder, knowing which team would come out next.

"And, in second place, the reigning champions! Without Wendy, can the Tigers redeem themselves from their loss from day 4?!"

Out came team Sabertooth, wearing their own color scheme of black and gold. They consisted of a smirking Minerva, a brooding Rogue, a blank-faced Sting, a silent Dobengal, and a grinning Orga.

"Their whole attitude has changed since the events from day 4," Chapati pointed out.

"Yeah," Yajima agreed, "Perhaps they will become a lot more serious about the Games now. Normally, if it were like any of the other years, the Games would have already been decided."

Team Sabertooth kept walking toward the center of the arena in complete silence as fans cheered loudly for them.

'L _et's just get this over with,'_ Sting thought to himself, his determination to win the Games completely diminished as worried thoughts about Wendy clouded his mind. Ever since what happened, he had simply lost interest in the Games. His only motivation before was Jiemma's approval of him, but now that he's gone, what was the point?

"And now, the team you've all seen put up one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the Games!" Chapati hollered as cheers became much, much louder. From their own tunnel, the silhouettes of the first place team came into view. "Led by Natsu Dragneel's fiery determination, ladies and gentlemen, the first place team: FAIRY TAIL!"

The team came out of the tunnel, revealing themselves to the crowd. As the camera recorded them, sounds of confusion sounded from the stands.

"Well, this is a turn of events!" Chapati shockingly announced, "Natsu Dragneel is _not_ going to participate today!"

In place of Natsu, Juvia became part of the team. Team Fairy Tail, dressed in their dark purple uniforms, consisted of Erza, Laxus, Gajeel, Gray, and Juvia.

"Perhaps Natsu-kun is still exhausted from his lengthy battle from the other day," Yajima suggested, "Either way, this is still a very powerful team."

"And with that, the 4 teams are all here! Day 5 of the X791 Games will begin shortly!" Chapati transitioned as Mato came into the center of the arena, ready to explain the rules.

In the stands of Fairy Tail sat the majority of the guild. Makarov and Mavis sat in the front, watching the other teams closely.

"Sixth, is the plan in action?" Mavis asked the man.

Makarov nodded, "They should be on their way now. And you finished your game plan with the team?"

Mavis nodded back, "We stayed up late last night to thoroughly go through everyone's roles in today. Victory for us on _both_ fronts is assured."

* * *

 _"We will send a small group to the castle to retrieve Lucy,"_ Makarov's words of his plan repeated in everyone's heads. The small group was off to the castle, consisting of Natsu, Happy, Mira, Future Lucy, and Pantherlily.

"Happy, a little faster," Natsu commanded as Happy flew him up high into the air. Next to them was a battle form Lily carrying both Mira and Lucy in his arms.

"Aye, sir!" Happy nodded, doing as told.

"Are you sure flying into the castle is the best idea?" Lily asked, doubt all over his voice.

"The ground is too heavily guarded," Mira answered, "Our best bet is to start from the top and make our way down to the basement, where Lucy's locked up."

"I'll be in the first cell," Future Lucy added.

The castle of Mercurius came into everyone's sight. At one of the top floors, a solo balcony stood, a single guard on it.

"There's our opening," Natsu smirked, igniting a single fist, "I'm all fired up now!"

As the group came closer to the balcony, Natsu brought up his ignited fist. Once the guard became close enough, he forcefully brought it down to the guard's head, knocking him out quickly.

The group landed onto the balcony. Seeing no one else around them, Mira quickly used her transformation magic to become the guard that they just knocked down.

"Alright, everyone ready?" she asked, her voice now of a man's.

The group nodded. Lily transformed back into his smaller form, Future Lucy put her hood up, and the group all laid down onto the ground, looking as if they were knocked out.

 _"Mira, pretend you're a guard arresting the group. Take them to the prison and then you'll be able get Lucy back."_ Makarov's solution was now going as planned as Mira began to pick everyone up.

* * *

Inside a room at the very top of the palace, Future Rogue, Yukino, Hisui, and Arcadios all sat in a room, watching a large screen that had the Games on.

"If this ends like you say it will," Hisui looked to the man from the future, "I will give you permission to use the Eclipse Gate."

"Of course," Future Rogue nodded.

In the back of the room, Yukino just looked at the ground, guilt all over her face.

 _'I'm sorry, Lucy-sama...but this is how it must be.'_

The Day Before

"I have you now...Lucy Heartfilia."

"Eh?" Lucy asked, confused. She was currently tied to the wall, the ropes holding her back being made of shadows.

"Rogue-sama!" Yukino called out to the man, "What are you doing?"

 _'That's...Sabertooth's Rogue…?'_ Lucy's thoughts wondered as she stared at the man with the long black and white hair. _'But...that's not how he looks…'_

Suddenly, her eyes widened as she remembered Princess Hisui's words from earlier that day. _"A source from the future has informed us about an attack…"_

 _'No...could he be...Rogue from the future…?'_

"Lucy Heartfilia must be captured," Future Rogue blatantly said, "There's no other option."

"What are you talking about? She's willing to help u-"

"There's no other option," Future Rogue repeated himself, "Lucy Heartfilia must be stopped."

"I-I'm not a threat!" Lucy defended herself, "I swear! I want to help you guys defend against the dragons!"

Yukino began to run over to Lucy to aid her, only to be stopped by Future Rogue's voice. "Ignore her words, Yukino. She is the reason we could not defend ourselves in my timeline."

"Eh…?" both Yukino and Lucy sounded out.

"She will be the one to close the gate. She will prevent the weapon that is the Eclipse Gate from protecting our world from the attack. She is the reason only 10% of humanity lives in my world." Future Rogue explained, absolute hatred in his voice, "She is the reason _you_ are dead!"

Yukino gasped, looking over to Lucy, fear in her eyes as her brain comprehended that the girl in front of her would be the reason she was going to die.

"W-what are you talking about? I won't...I won't let that happen!" Lucy yelled out, "I want to save everyone! I won't close the gate! I swear!"

"Your fate is sealed. You will close the gate unless you are stopped."

Soldiers began marching into the room, reacting to all of the ruckus going on in there.

"Arrest her," Future Rogue commanded them, pointing at the defenseless Lucy.

"N-no! I'm not going to do anything!"

Future Rogue's teeth clenched. "Now!" he yelled at the soldiers, prompting them to move faster and take the tied up girl to the prison.

Yukino could only watch in confusion. _'Lucy-sama will…close the gate? But…-'_

"I know this is sudden, but it had to be done," the man interrupted the girl's thoughts with his words, "Lucy Heartfilia will bring about our world's destruction. If she is not stopped...everyone will die." His words were cold, his entire being much darker than usual.

"U...understood…" Yukino hesitantly replied, remaining obedient to the man.

Future Rogue began to walk out of the room alone, not saying a word. In his thoughts, all he could say was, _'I will end your life tonight...and this world will become mine…'_

* * *

Present Day

"Welcome, everyone, to the final day of the X791 Grand Magic Games-kabo!" Mato excitedly yelled, "If you could all please settle down and allow me to explain the rules to the teams-kabo."

The crowd did as asked, their volume drastically decreasing as they awaited for Mato to explain the rules.

"Today, being the last day, will be different from the others. Every member of each team will participate in a battle royale-style event. Every team member defeated will give the winner 1 point, unless it is the team leader, which will result in a special 5 points awarded. With that being said," Mato paused, allowing the arena to begin to shift in its appearance, creating an exact copy of Crocus itself within the arena's walls. The 4 teams were all separated from each other's sights, all of them along four corners of the town. Mato then continued, "The battle will be taking place in this fake, lacrima-made town-kabo!"

Cheers began once again as Mato hopped off of the stage, exiting the camera's view. He then walked over to the gong, ringing it loudly as he yelled out, "Let the final day of the Games begin!"

* * *

 _ **With the Games beginning its final day, everyone enters with their own goal in mind as fate begins to pull its strings...**_

* * *

 **A/N: And the stage is set! The final day of the Games is upon us!**

 **I have a question for you guys: would you be okay if I don't go into detail with some of these fights? I mean, many of the matchups are the same (i.e. Erza vs Kagura vs Minerva) and you could always read the manga/watch the anime for the fights. I'm going to focus on the fights that are different in canon (Aka Dobengal now being a part of the Games and stuff). But, if you guys have a problem with that, just say so in your reviews.**

 **Again, thanks to Conbolt is Fire!**

 **Hopefully, I'll see you guys soon, but who knows what my teachers will throw at me :P**

 **As always, thanks for reading, and please leave a review! And this time, add ":K" to the end if you read these author's notes. I read all reviews, and they make me very happy!**

 **So, until next time!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters**


	25. The Last Day

**A/N: Hello~! I am back! Well...not quite.**

 **Sorry for the delay, but like I said last chapter, the delays are not going away any time soon.**

 **I want to thank everyone for sticking with this story despite all the delays! I hope you are very satisfied by the end and are willing to read the sequel I have planned for it!**

 **Thanks again to Conbolt is Fire for his awesome job at beta-reading, and hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"Let the final day of the Games begin!" Mato yelled at the top of his lungs. The sound of his voice caused the fans to all jump out of their seats, standing up to try and get a better view at the monitor displays in front of them.

The first teams to move were both Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel. With the two being at the bottom, they had no time to waste.

The two were on opposite corners from one another, but the team members of both teams spread out and managed to find each other really quickly.

All that could be seen on the screen of the monitor was a large flashing light as members of the two teams collided.

Off in their own corner of the arena, Sabertooth's team, looking rather lackluster, watched the monitors.

"Looks like they started without us," Orga observed. The man then gave a small grin at his teammates, "Better get the points while you're at it." He began to run out of the group, entering the nearest battle he could find him. Behind him, the silent Dobengal followed stealthily, hunting for his own prey.

"I'm going to find and fight Gajeel," Rogue mumbled next to Sting, "You coming?"

Sting simply shook his head, allowing the teen to turn into a shadow and go out into the battle.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Minerva asked as she began to walk off to go watch the battles going on around them.

Sting remained silent, taking a seat at the bench nearest to them.

"I want to remind you that if Sabertooth wins," Minerva began, "We will win 30 million jewel." The woman looked for Sting to react, and when he didn't, she added, "Perhaps all that money could go toward fixing a certain friend of yours's mind."

Sting still didn't have an obvious reaction to Minerva's words, but the woman knew— _knew_ —she hit him right in his weak point. Right where he was going to listen.

Now satisfied, the woman walked off, eager to find her prey in this battle royale.

* * *

"It looks like the teams are already battling!" Chapati announced, his eyes glued to the many screens projected in front of him, showing every team members' locations and status.

"Looks like Mermaid Heel's Beth and Risley are out already, along with Lamia's Toby and Yuka!" Yajima added, shocked.

"They were all taken out by Sabertooth's Orga-kabo!" Mato's jaw dropped, seeing the damage from the black lightning mage. All the buildings around the man were completely destroyed, debris spread everywhere as Orga's 4 victims lay on the ground, taken out by a single strike.

Orga just gave a smug grin at the camera as the scoreboard tallied up. **Sabertooth +4**

"Sabertooth just took the lead from Fairy Tail with 52 points!" Chapati pointed out as the guild's name switched from the second place standing to first.

"Speaking of which," Yajima looked through the many monitors that were showing the different cameras. Yajima then let out a confused sound as his eyes fell onto the last camera. "Fairy Tail hasn't even taken a single step!"

In their corner of the arena, Team Fairy Tail stood together in a single line, their eyes filled with determination as they just stood there, so still that one would think it was just a photo the cameras were showing.

"This is definitely a first, Yajima-san!" Chapati said with his loud voice that was filled with the same amount of shock the former councilman had, "Team Fairy Tail refuses to move!"

"Perhaps they're playing the waiting game-kabo?" Mato suggested from his seat, "Let everyone else take each other out and then take out the rest of the opponents when they're already exhausted?"

"That does make sense," Yajima responded, "However, this guild is not one to just sit back from a fight."

With that, the entire crowd watched the 5 members of Fairy Tail closely, the same thought going through their heads.

Just what were they planning?

* * *

While the arena of Domus Flau was shaking the entire city with its excitement, a single girl, all alone in a small, dark corner, sat in the hidden basement of the huge castle that was Mercurius.

She said nothing, only looking at the ground her eyes stared blankly into the concrete. All that could be heard was the dripping of water from the leaking ceiling, the drops falling ever so slowly into the bucket that awaited them.

The darkness of the other side of her cell softly subsided as the loud sound of metal clinking was heard, sounding as if a door had been opened. Footsteps then echoed across the almost empty space, quickly dominating over the sound of the water dripping.

"Eh...Lucy-sama…" a gentle voice called from the darkness. The girl in the cell did not respond, only gripping her arms tighter.

"I, uh...I brought you some food," the voice got louder as the distance between them got smaller.

The light finally caught up with the girl, revealing her to be none other than Sergeant Yukino Aguria, holding a tray consisting of rather decent food.

Lucy, however, did not move or even flinch at the girl's sudden visit to her lonely cell.

Yukino slowly placed the food onto the ground, sliding it through the small gap between the bars and the floor.

But she still didn't move.

"Lucy-sama...you haven't eaten in the past two days," Yukino quietly mentioned, "It is not wise to-"

"Let me out," the girl's voice quickly interrupted, completely cold and blatant.

Yukino, taken aback by her sudden response, stuttered out, "I...I-"

"I've been shouting that for the past two days…" Lucy whimpered, "Why...why can't anyone hear me?"

"Lucy-sama…" Yukino softly trailed off, not knowing how to respond.

"I just...I want to see my friends again...I don't want to stay here forever...I want to see my friends...Let me out...my friends...my…"

The girl's repetitive rambling continued as Yukino's concerned face changed to an addled one.

"Lucy-sama...are you okay…?"

"I want to go home...Let me out...I want to see my friends...don't want to stay….let me out…"

Her robotic voice continued its monotone message.

Yukino then leaned closer into the cell bars, getting a closer look at the blonde in the back corner. As if on cue, Lucy lifted her head for the girl to see.

Upon seeing her, Yukino let out a loud gasp. The girl's brown eyes were now pure black, and the top half of her face was covered in darkness.

"...let me out…"

Yukino immediately began to ran out the prison, bolting straight up the stairs, disregarding the guards she was passing by, not even noticing the one guard on the second floor carrying 2 very familiar bodies along with 2 cats.

She went straight to the top floor, running right into the room where Princess Hisui and others were watching the Games.

The door made a loud bang as it slammed against the adjacent wall as Yukino practically shoved it out of her way.

Everyone turned their heads to face the girl, but her eyes were only focused on the man she trusted with practically everything for the past week.

However, once she felt all eyes fall on her, Yukino quickly realized she had to maintain her composure, and immediately loosened her stiffened stance.

"Rogue-sama," she calmly said after a long, deep breath, her tone not matching the loud entrance she had just made, "Can I speak with you in the hallway?"

Future Rogue did not say anything, just merely standing up and walking with her outside.

The second the door clicked behind them, Yukino immediately began talking.

"What did you do to Lucy-sama?!" she released her uneasy, concerned tone that she tried to hide from the princess and her soldiers.

Future Rogue let out a small breath as he realized that the girl had found his plan out. Seeing no need to lie to her any longer, Future Rogue replied simply, "I needed to keep her busy so that she wouldn't have any way to close the gate."

To say that it was obvious that Yukino was displeased with the man was an understatement. The girl was quick to scold him, saying, "By possessing her with one of your shadows?"

The man gave a small, sly smile, "You were always a clever one, Yukino."

"How could you do that to her?!"

"How could she let more than 90% of the world die?!"

Yukino clenched her fist and took a few steps closer to the man. Once she got close enough, she raised her hand up in the air and whacked it right across his tattooed cheek, slapping him harshly.

The man was rather shocked, his head turned a complete 90 degrees from the force the girl put into the hit.

"Fate of the world or not, you _swore_ you would never use that spell on anyone!" Yukino cried out, her voice echoing in the empty hallway, likely heard by the princess and everyone else in the other room.

2 years ago - 1 week after Yukino joined Sabertooth

"Your shadow magic is quite interesting," Yukino looked over at her new comrade. The two were at her new apartment, having just finished bringing in all the boxes of her furniture and belongings. Yukino handed the teen a cup of hot tea as he leaned against the dark wall as she sat down onto the couch.

"I agree with you in that it is interesting, but I wouldn't say it's one of the better magics out there," he quietly hummed.

Yukino's eyebrow propped up, "You don't like it?"

Rogue took a deep breath before answering. "It's very…" he took a sip of tea "...complicated."

"Isn't all magic complicated, Rogue-sama?"

"But this one is different...there's aspects to it that Skiadrum told me to never, ever dare try out. He gave me a simple, fine line between the parts of the magic he taught me and the parts that are too dark for my mind to control."

The girl across the room gave a rather shocked look, letting out a small gasp as she saw the boy's stance stiffen.

"This magic is viewed as the cousin to black magic," Rogue claimed, "And in some parts, it is worse than black magic."

His body began to shake slightly as Yukino saw all the discomfort in his eyes. In an attempt to calm him down, the girl quickly walked over to him, placing her tea down on a random, unopened box and stepping toward the uneasy teen.

"Rogue-sama, it's okay if you don't-"

"This magic...this _shadow_...it can take over people. Possess them...rob them of their happiness. And, in my opinion, that's worse than killing…"

"Rogue-sama…" Yukino whispered, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "You shouldn't be afraid of your own magic. You've been spending all these years mastering it. Don't think about what the shadow might do, think about what you want the shadow to do."

Her voice was warm, pulling the brooding Rogue from his deep thoughts and back to reality.

"I…" Rogue trailed off before raising his face, looking Yukino right in the eyes, the eye contact making the girl's cheeks turn a light pink as she took a few steps back, releasing his shoulder from her hold as she widened the distance between them.

Rogue gave the girl a small smile, "You're right, Yukino...I won't let my magic get out of control. I won't let the shadow possess anyone, no matter who they are. I swear."

Yukino smiled back at the boy, "You don't need to say it out loud," she murmured, "Just keep that in your heart."

Present day

Future Rogue slowly brought his head back to face the girl again, his left cheek slightly redder than the untouched one.

He didn't say anything or do anything, but the rage in his face was obvious. His breathing turned coarse as his eyes hardened even more.

Clenching his teeth, the man swiftly turned his back toward the girl, his robe flowing hardly as a large gust of wind followed it, blowing Yukino's hair slightly. He marched away from the girl, no words left to say.

* * *

Mira, transformed into a guard, picked up Natsu and Future Lucy, along with Happy and Pantherlily, carrying them in her arms as she began to walk out of the balcony and toward the main hallway.

At the sight of her, the other guards immediately questioned her.

"Hendersin?" one guard called out, "What's going on?"

"We had an attempted break-in," Mira thought up a lie on the spot, "I'm taking these guys down to the prison."

"Is-is that Natsu? From Fairy Tail?" another asked, seeing the pink hair and the red guild mark on his shoulder.

"Yeah. Looks like he wanted to come grab his friend down in the jail," Mira shrugged.

"And who's the one with the hood?" The guard walked up to them, staring right at Future Lucy, whose hood was up, hiding her hair and face from the others. Mira's eyes widened as she saw his hand reach out to pull on the hood.

 _'I can't let them see Future Lucy's face…'_ Mira's thoughts raced as she tried to think of a solution.

And, like a light bulb, an idea suddenly lit up in her mind.

"I wouldn't do that!" she practically shouted, causing the guard to jump, giving her a look of confusion as he whipped his hand back to his side.

"It...it might wake them," Mira explained, "They were hard enough to beat earlier…"

The guards around the rescue team all exchanged looks before shrugging. They then walked away from Mira, allowing her to pass through.

"Wonder what his problem is," one guard whispered to his comrade.

"Hendersin was always a weird one…" the other pointed out.

Mira let out a slight sigh of relief as she made her way down the many, many stairs. The constant spirals were making the Dragon Slayer in her arms quiver as he put his hands over his mouth as his cheeks puffed up.

"Seriously?" Mira quietly asked, sweat dropping at the sight of the boy.

"Sorry…I can't help it…" Natsu defended before huffing again.

Eventually, the end of the spiral stairs came, reaching the second floor of the castle. Mira observed all the parts of the hallway she was in, looking for a hint toward her destination.

"There's a metal door down the hall," Natsu whispered in the demon's arms, "I can smell Lucy's scent coming from there. That's gotta be where the jail cells are."

Mira silently thanked Natsu for his enhanced senses, now quickly walking toward the door. As she made her way down the hallway, she saw another palace worker quickly making their way down the hallway.

However, this one was different from the others. They had a higher ranking uniform on, indicating they were a sergeant. Mira managed to get a good look at the running worker, seeing short white hair bouncing off the woman's shoulders as she raced past them.

 _'Yukino…?'_ she quietly recognized the girl's hair, _'What happened?'_

Mira looked back across the hallway, seeing the metal door Natsu was talking about. It had just closed shut, indicating that someone had just used it.

Putting two and two together, Mira realized that Yukino was the one who had just come out of there. And if she was running from it with a concerned and worried look on her face, then…

Mira suddenly started to bolt toward the door that led to Lucy's location. _'If Yukino is running from there with a face like that, then...something must be wrong with Lucy!'_

Mira dashed through the metal door, another large staircase waiting behind it. As she raced toward the bottom of the stairs, the sight of the jail cells came in sight. Running as fast as she could, Mira burst through the door that led to the cells.

And right there in the first cell awaited their comrade.

"Lucy!" Mira called out to her, her voice now normal again as her transformation wore off. The group in her arms then began to move on their own, Natsu and Happy being the fastest as they sprinted to Lucy's cell.

Future Lucy, on the other hand, kept her hood up and her face in the dark as she, Mira, and Lily stayed behind to make sure no guards were coming behind them.

"We're here, Lucy!" Natsu yelled out as he practically threw himself at the jail cell she was held in.

However, the response he got was nothing like he expected.

"Let me go…I want to go...home..." the girl droned on, causing both Natsu and Happy to give the girl a confused look.

"Luce...you alright…?"

The girl's head lifted, revealing the darkened aura slowly consuming her. Her face was still pitch dark, her entire body slowing being engulfed in darkness. Her body was slightly shaking, its posture stiff and unmoving. The darkness was slowly creeping up more onto her, her body gradually just becoming one with the shadow.

And, without any hesitation, Natsu forcefully grabbed onto the metal bars that separated the two from each other. The bars almost immediately began to glow a bright orange as Natsu's overheating body melted the metal. The flame wizard then forcibly pulled the bars away from each other, creating an opening for him to fit through.

"Lucy!" Natsu cried the girl's name out as he sprinted into the cell, grabbing hold of the girl in the back corner.

The girl didn't respond, her dark body unwilling to move as Natsu put his hands on her shoulders. Natsu then resorted to shaking her body, but to no avail. He cried her name out louder and louder as he pratically pulled on her as the body slowly sank into the pool of black beneath her.

"Lucy! Snap out of it!"

* * *

In the arena, the sounds of blasts being shot and metal being clinked rang in the speakers as the audience watched all of the monitors following the competitors.

"With Fairy Tail still standing still, the other 3 guilds seem to be giving it their all against each other!" Chapati announced.

In the middle of the battle grounds, Lamia Scale members Lyon and Sherria were now against Mermaid Heel's Kagura and Millianna.

Both sides got into a fighting stance as they began their own stand-off.

Almost all eyes in the arena fell onto the two teams.

"Will the teams resolve the draw they had in their team battle at the end of day 4?" Chapati commentated.

Lyon brought his hands up into their signature stance as he prepared an ice attack as Kagura's grip on her sword got tighter. Millianna and Sherria, too, prepared themselves.

The stand-off continued for a few more long seconds, the area around the teams becoming eerily silent.

The one to break the silence between the four was none other than Kagura Mikazuchi. She lowered her stance, causing the other 3 around her to do the same.

"Both of our guilds' chances of winning today are being blocked by the Tigers and Fairies," Kagura announced, walking closer to the two Lamia members, "I, as team leader of Mermaid Heel, propose a temporary alliance between our guilds to take down Sabertooth and Fairy Tail."

A large, loud gasp spread throughout the crowds. An alliance between guilds was quite rare in the Games, especially on the last day.

Lyon gave off a small nod, "I'll relay the message to my teammates if you do the same."

To that Kagura nodded as the two groups turned back around and went their separate ways.

* * *

"Fairy Tail has taken its first move!" Chapati continued his commentary, seeing the team of Fairies begin to run, all in separate directions.

The second the Fairies began to move, it was if the other competitors' all felt it. Even though they didn't have monitors to watch them, they knew that Day 5 was finally about to begin. Grins formed on the faces of the other guilds as they all became more eager to fight.

And from a rooftop amidst the fake city created by Games officials, Dobengal watched the 5 go their separate ways.

His eyes landed on their target, following the long, flowing blue hair as they made it made its way toward an alley.

Retaining his silence, the ninja hopped off the rooftop and onto the next, following the girl as he prepared for his battle in the Games.

* * *

 _ **With unknown motives in mind, Dobengal begins to make his mark in the Games...**_

 **To be continued in Chapter 26 - Dobengal of Sabertooth**

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! See what I added at the end there with the next chapter title? I love how Hiro Mashima always puts those 'hype lines' at the end with the next chapter title, so I wanted to do the same!**

 **With Wendy being 'sidelined' for this portion of the story due to her current condition, I want to focus on the more minor characters, so that's why I'm giving Dobengal his own part in the story. But don't worry, Wendy'll be back before you know it.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Nothing huge happened other than Natsu and the others finding the shadow possessed-Lucy and Yukino starting to distrust Future Rogue (about time...), but the pace will pick up soon! Hope you guys will like what I have planned for the Dragons/Eclipse part ;)**

 **As per tradition, I was hoping that you guys could please leave a review! They help me out a lot :D. And add ";J" at the end if you read this hehe.**

 **Well, until next time guys! Not really sure when next chapter will be, so you guys probably won't hear from me in awhile. But if you guys ever just want to chat with me just PM me on here or Tumblr and I'll probably answer pretty quickly~ (I don't bite guys...seriously...)**

 **(also is anyone (mainly at the female readers) playing Mystic Messenger? That game is _totally_ not taking over my life...)**


	26. Dobengal of Sabertooth

**A/N: I'm so sorry I was gone for over 2 months! I never really found the time or motivation to write, and I ended up leaving you guys hanging for so long :/**

 **More information will be in the bottom author's note if any of you are interested. I'll let you guys read the chapter~**

 **Hope you guys like it!**

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen," Chapati's voice hollered through the mic as he continued his commentating of the Grand Magic Games. The monitors in the colosseum showed different areas of the town before zooming in on the 5 wizards from the Fairy Tail team. "Fairy Tail is now on the move!"

"Their strategy to wait to make their move dropped them into 2nd-kabo," Mato added, "Sabertooth is back in the lead again."

"But there are still plenty of contestants left," Yajima countered the pumpkin, "These Games are just beginning to heat up!"

"And don't forget that both Mermaid Heel and Lamia Scale entered a temporary truce in hopes of defeating Fairy Tail and Sabertooth," the main commentator reminded everyone, "And it looks like their first target is Sabertooth's Minerva!"

The camera panned onto the woman, who was standing at the top of a building, a smirk on her face just like always.

"My, my," Minerva hummed, looking at her new opponents. Lamia Scale's Sherria Blendy and Mermaid Heel's Millianna both ran up to the tiger.

"Let's have some fun, shall we?" Minerva gave her ever so evil looking grin, lifting a hand up as she activated her Territory magic.

* * *

"Lucy!" Natsu desperately called out to the dazed girl, holding her tightly in his hands as he shook her, hoping for some type of reaction.

"Lucy~!" Happy's voice followed, "What's wrong?"

Over by the door to the cells, standing guard, was Mira. Hearing the commotion, the girl turned to Future Lucy beside her.

"What's going on?"

"I...I'm not really sure. I'll check it out." The woman then turned around, running toward the cell that she was once held in 7 years ago.

"Natsu," Future Lucy called the boy as she arrived at the cell, "what's going—"

The woman cut her words off at the sight in front of her. The second her eyes landed on her past self, pure shock filled her system.

"—on?"

Future Lucy ran right into the cell, joining Natsu and Happy as the 3 looked it the black-eyed girl.

"Lucy...what's happening to you?" Happy asked the future counterpart, pure worry on his face as he kept trying to poke present, mumbling Lucy back into reality.

"I...I don't know…" Future Lucy answered, her tone indicating nothing but the truth.

 _'A change in the timeline…?'_

"Um...guys!" Mira's voice called from down the hall, "I think I can hear some guards coming this way! You might want to hurry up!"

As Mira called out to them, the muffled footsteps and voices of guards became apparent in the group's ears. As Natsu picked up the dazed Lucy into his arms, they all ran to a hiding spot underneath the staircase, waiting for the guards to pass by without entering the room.

However, they were mistaken. The sound of the heavy metal door creaking open echoed into the room as the many tapping of footsteps followed, getting louder and louder as the guards got closer.

The present Lucy began to mumble once more, forcing Natsu to cover her mouth shut. "Not now, Lucy…" the boy whispered into her ear. The girl's mumbles came to a slow stop after hearing his words.

"Did you hear that?" the shorter of the two guards' heads snapped right toward where the group was hiding, causing them to all stiffen their bodies and suck in their breath.

"Probably the wind or something," the taller guard next to him shrugged.

The alert guard sweatdropped at the claim. "We're in a windowless basement in the middle of a castle...do you really think wind can be heard from here?"

"Whatever…" the guy mumbled as he made his way toward the cell where the sole prisoner was held.

"Oi, little lady!" the guard called out to the cell as he slowly got closer to it, "Feeling cozy in there?"

When he received no response, the taller guard's pace sped up. By the time he reached the cell, his eyes widened at the sight in front of him.

"She broke out!" he shouted out, causing the shorter guard to let out a shocked sound.

"What!?"

"The girl...she's gone!"

"Crap…" the guard muttered under his breath before looking back up at his colleague, "Go alert the others! I'll stay here in case she comes back!"

"Got it!" the other nodded before running back up the stairs and out of the room.

Once he was gone, the shorter guard began pacing around the room.

"No one can go through those doors without making an obnoxiously loud sound…" he mumbled, "You have to be in here...somewhere…"

Natsu's fist clenched as he gave Mira and the others a look.

And before Mira or anyone else could stop him, Natsu quickly placed Lucy into her future self's arms and ignited his entire right arm in flames.

"What the hell did you do to her!?" the teen shouted at the top of his lungs as he hopped into the air.

"What the-" his speech was cut off as the flaming fist met the left side of his face. The guard, with absolute shock restricting himself from moving, was too slow to react to the boy. All he could do was let the force overcome him and send him flying to the wall in the back.

Natsu quickly turned back to where his comrades were still in hiding. He locked eyes with them, showing the group the absolute rage encased within his irises. He then shouted for them to leave, and the group simply nodded before running up the stairs, out of the prison.

At the height of the stairs, Future Lucy turned around, looking right at where Natsu stood, the boy in a fighting stance as the guard got off the ground.

"Be careful...please…"

* * *

"It looks like Dobengal is on the move!" Chapati commentated as the cameras panned toward the stealthy ninja, who was hopping from rooftop to rooftop in the lacrima-generated city.

"He's tailing someone," Yajima pointed out, "And I think it's...a Fairy Tail member!"

The camera then zoomed in where the mage was, showing the long, blue hair bouncing into the air as they continued to run, seemingly oblivious to the mage tailing them.

"Dobengal is going for Juvia-san, kabo!" Mato announced as the rest of the people watching, too, realized it.

* * *

 _"Keep running toward the center of the city, where a member of Lamia Scale likely will be waiting."_ The First's words repeated in the water mage's mind.

"Juvia will not fail her guild…!" Juvia assured herself out loud, "Not when everyone is giving it their all!"

Juvia continued to run, her pace getting faster as she was oblivious to the Sabertooth member stalking behind her.

Running along the rooftops, Dobengal remained emotionless under the mask he wore over his mouth, mumbling, "I have you now, Juvia…"

Dobengal's foot then hit the floor hard, creating a rainbow beam from underneath him. The ninja used it to propel himself up into the air, eventually landing right in front of his target opponent.

" _Kya_!" Juvia cried out as the force of the man's landing created a force great enough to knock her back a few steps.

When she looked up to see who the attacker was, she could only get a glimpse of him before he pulled something from his pocket and threw it at the ground. The things from his pocket exploded into clouds of smoke, and Juvia could only see his silhouette before it disappeared into thin air.

"What the- _gah_!" Juvia let out another cry as she felt a force kick her in the back.

Juvia fell to the ground, looking up to see who was behind all of the attacks.

"It's been a long time," Dobengal's voice revealed itself through the smoke, his silhouette reappearing in the gray smog.

"Who-who are you?" Juvia nervously questioned as she backed up from the man.

"You don't remember?" Dobengal scoffed through his mask, "Such a shame...you're quite unforgettable to me."

* * *

Rogue quietly strolled through the streets of the fake city, listening to the voices of the announcers as he searched for his sole target opponent in the Games.

"And Dobengal makes his move against Juvia! The first collision between the top 2 guilds has begun!"

"He looks really angry," the old man next to the ecstatic Chapati commented, "I can feel it pulsing from here."

"Perhaps some bad blood between them-kabo!"

Rogue hummed at the sound of that, quietly mumbling, "So Dobengal finally gets the fight he wanted…after all this time."

Rogue then picked up the familiar scent of iron in his nose, feeling the presence of his own target enter his system. "And so will I…" he added, beginning to walk faster toward his sworn enemy.

Rogue's body glowed a dark black as he entered his shadow form, quickly making his way toward the Iron Dragon he was after.

 _'I swear on my guild's name, I will defeat you…'_

* * *

Juvia was running at her absolute top speed, trying to gain some distance from her attacker. Yet every time she got far enough from him, he appeared right in front of her.

"I have no idea who you are!" Juvia defended herself against the mage, creating a water shield to block the attack of the rainbow beams being shot toward her, "I have never seen you before in my life!"

Dobengal ignored the girl's words, letting out a small chuckle at the rain woman.

The ninja teleported to a rooftop right in front of the girl, continuing his laughter.

"How convenient this is," Dobengal stated, "Neither of us were even meant to be in the Games this year."

Juvia turned around, running the opposite way, only to see the ninja appear in front of her, hands charged with another beam attack.

"Yet somehow, here we are," Dobengal smirked underneath the mask he donned as his arm became engulfed by the beam. The ninja extended his arm toward the water mage at a rapid pace. Juvia screamed in pain as she flew backwards, hitting the wall to the building and landing right on her bottom, already exhausted and bleeding from the side of her head.

 _'Impossible…Juvia...Juvia should be immune to physical attacks…!'_

Dobengal teleported to right in front of the girl, forcefully grabbing the top of her head, holding it back so she looked him in the eyes.

"Fate works in weird ways, don't you think?"

Juvia looked the young man right in his eyes, a confused blue meeting a darkened brown.

"Juvia…" the woman practically spluttered as her fatigue was already catching up to her before she could even go on the offensive, "Juvia doesn't remember you…!"

Dobengal was silent for a second before taking his free hand to his mask. He yanked the cloth that covered the bottom half of his face, revealing his nose and mouth the entire audience of the Games.

Juvia's eyes widened as she took in the man's appearance.

"Do you remember _now_?"

"It...it's you…"

* * *

Phantom Lord - X783

"Juvia, wait!" a voice called out to the then 16 year-old girl. The rain woman stopped in her tracks as she turned to face the man calling out to her. The rain, too, came to a halt as the girl stood in the middle of the street.

Juvia looked the man in the eyes, seeing the black marks on his face and immediately recognizing him as a fellow member of her new guild. "What is it, Totomaru?"

"You shouldn't go on your first job alone!"

Totomaru awaited her response, only to be met with complete silence as the two teenagers entered a rather awkward staring contest.

After a few short moments, the teen's eyes darted to the ground as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Look," he began, "Coming from someone who took his first job alone, don't do it."

"I'll be fine," Juvia shrugged his warning off with a monotone voice, "I can handle it."

Totomaru's face fell into shock as the woman abruptly turned back around, continuing to walk down the path as the rain followed with her. The fire mage then began to go after her, determined to join her if she wasn't going to listen.

"Just let her go," a voice called out from behind him. Totomaru turned around, seeing another member of his guild.

"What?"

The other teen let out a smirk as he picked up a screw, tossing it into his mouth and violently chewing on it as if it were candy, "She's still new. Here in Phantom Lord, you gotta learn everything yourself. It's sink or swim."

* * *

 _RETRIEVE THE LOST DIAMOND AND ARREST THE THIEF FOR STEALING. REWARD: 40,000 JEWELS_

Juvia read the request over and over as she sat alone on the train, listening to the pitter-patter of the raindrops echoing in the nearly empty train car.

When she arrived at her destination and was at the requester's house, Juvia's words still remained minimal. She gave the client simple, emotionless nods as she listened to the details of the job.

The only words she had to really pay attention to were simple: "The man behind this uses magic that consists of a rainbow beam."

The job went smoothly. The diamond was rather easy to find after interviewing just a few people who had worked at the jewelry store. After all, a bright rainbow magic was not something that could easily go unnoticed.

After a brisk battle, Juvia easily defeated the target, getting the diamond back and arresting the man behind the crime. Juvia showed the man to her employer, and, despite pleas from the man, the employer insisted that he was the one behind the diamond robbery. Juvia then checked his pockets, finding the stolen diamond in them and returning it to its rightful owner.

After receiving her reward, the girl began to walk back to the train station, the job fully completed.

But as Juvia walked onto the train, she heard a faint shout behind her. The girl turned her head, seeing what looked like a little boy in the distance.

"Wait!" the boy yelled, "Wait! Please!"

Juvia narrowed her eyes to get a better look at the boy as he ran toward her. As the distance between them diminished, Juvia caught a glimpse of his brown hair bouncing with his movements, along with a second figure, one of an adult woman, following behind him.

Juvia got off the train, allowing it to depart without her as she continued to confusedly stare at the two people making their way towards her.

"Don't let them take him away…!" the boy yelled, grabbing Juvia's coat as tears rolled down his face, blending in with the raindrops that covered it.

Juvia remained silent, just staring at the boy, not knowing how to respond.

"Duncan!" the woman behind the little boy cried out from behind. When she reached the pair, she grabbed the little boy, practically tearing him off of Juvia.

"Leave her alone," the woman instructed the boy, "She didn't do anything wrong…"

The boy shook his head, ripping himself out of the woman's arms.

"You're lying!" the boy, who looked not a day over 13, argued as he turned back at Juvia, "She stole him! She stole daddy from us!"

Juvia's eyebrow internally raised at his comment. _'The thief...has a family…?'_

The mother of the boy once again grabbed him, apologizing to Juvia before walking away. However, the boy continued shouting at the top of his lungs.

"He was at home with us when the robbery happened! He was framed!" the shouts slowly began to become faint in the distance. Juvia, however, continued listening to it, curious of the boy's words.

"He's innocent! He didn't do anything wrong, I swear!" were his last words before the rain eventually drowned out his voice.

Juvia looked at the ground, staring at the reflection that the puddle in front of her made of her face.

 _'If he is innocent like his son says so…then maybe…'_

Juvia's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of another train arriving at the station. Hearing the announcer's calls of the train's next destination, all Juvia did was stare.

Was she going to get on? Or was she going to go back and tell the police of the boy's cries?

Her conscience ultimately outweighed her employer's claim that the man was the thief. Even if she was going to lose her reward, Juvia knew that it was the right thing to do.

But the second she took a step back toward town, she heard yet another person calling to her. This time, it was coming from the side of her. Juvia's head turned to see none other than her guildmate Totomaru looking at her, an umbrella in his hand as rain continued to fall between them.

"The employer has been a long-time client of the guild, and one who holds a powerful influence in this town. If you try to prove him wrong, even if he _is_ wrong, he will get out of the situation, and put the blame on the guild."

The rainbow fire mage waited for her response, only to be greeted with silence.

"If you go back there, you risk the guild's reputation in the city, and potentially in other cities as well. And that will hurt our revenue. I know it sounds ridiculous, but we can't take any risks. Especially not with Master, who has his whole heart set on trying to outrank that other guild in Magnolia."

Juvia couldn't help but notice his peculiarly large knowledge of her situation.

Had he been following her this whole time?

As if reading her thoughts, Totomaru answered the girl's unasked question. "I knew you could handle it, but a little caution never hurts anyone, right?" he flashed a small smile at her, hoping to get her approval of his actions.

"Let's go home," was all she responded with, stepping onto the train with him.

As the train began to depart from the station, the girl stared out the window. All her mind could focus on was the kid and his mother. She could still see the pain in their eyes and hear the sorrow in their voices.

Perhaps the man was innocent after all, but it was too late anyways. The train had departed, the day was over.

* * *

Present Day

Dobengal, realizing that the girl finally recognized him, put his mask back on and released her from his hold. The girl, despite her obvious fatigue, forced herself onto her feet.

"You were the little boy...the one whose father-"

"Was wrongfully imprisoned," Dobengal finished her sentence, "Because of you. Because you didn't go back there and tell the police."

"Juvia was only used to fight for her employer. She was just doing what she was told," the woman continued to defend herself, "If you want to go after someone, go after the one who hired Juvia."

Juvia began to walk out of the area, hoping to escape and get some room to hide and recover from her wounds. However, Dobengal simply just teleported in front of her, stopping her from leaving their battle.

"I did go after him, and I stopped him for framing multiple people, multiple _fathers_ ," Juvia turned away from the man, beginning to walk back the other way before being greeted once again by him.

"But that took years. I spent 5 years of my life bringing that man to justice. But if you had decided to go after him all those years ago, if you had started 2 years before I did, you would have saved an extra 25 men's lives from jail."

Tears couldn't help but well up in the girl's eyes. Had it really been her fault? If she had just ignored Totomaru's warning...she could have potentially saved many innocent men from being stripped from their families…

"Juvia is...Juvia is sorry...Juvia hopes your father returns home..." the girl whispered, falling to her knees.

The girl's words sparked a fire in the ninja's eyes. Without hesitation, he kicked the girl right from her vulnerable position, causing her to be pushed across the ground as she cried in pain.

"I wished for that too," he muttered, tears now forming in his own eyes out of both anger and sadness, "For years I promised I would get him out of that hell of a place. For years I looked forward to his return. But he never did return."

"What are you…" Juvia trailed off, before realizing what he was saying. Her eyes widened in pure disbelief, "No…"

"He was killed by an inmate. Murdered in cold blood after 4 years in that place."

At that moment, Juvia felt her heart sink all the way to the floor as it pumped guilt into her system.

 _'It...it really is my fault...'_

Her tears dripped onto the ground beneath her, making the only sound that resided between the two after the ninja's shocking revelation.

Dobengal's hands clenched tightly, nearly cutting off the circulation in them as he completely transformed his arms into rainbow beams.

"I swore, on my father's grave, that I will defeat you, and bring him justice."

Juvia could only look up, looking straight at the monitors that the sky was projecting, showing the other battles in the Games.

And what she saw was her guild's biggest fear.

Every other member of the guild was on the ground, nearly defeated by their opponent. Erza was down against Kagura, Laxus to Orga, Gajeel to Rogue, and even her beloved Gray-sama, who was on the verge of being defeated by his long-time rival and sworn brother, Lyon.

She then heard Chapati Lola's voice coming from the speakers, saying what everyone else was thinking.

"All the Fairies seem beaten to the point of no return! Could this be the end of their strong run in the Games?!"

Juvia's head then went back to looking at the ground. On all fours, Juvia clenched her two fists as her tears continued to drop.

 _'...Juvia is...sorry…'_

* * *

 _ **With the pride of their guild on the line, can the Fairies find a way to come back?**_

 **To be continued in Chapter 27 - Iron and Shadow**

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading and sticking with the story! I hate when stories take months to update, so I know a lot of you guys are probably not happy with me...**

 **Anyways, regarding what happened to me in the last 2 months, I wasn't busy 24/7. While I didn't have as much time to write as I used to, I still had time. But I just couldn't get the inspiration to write. I knew what I wanted to do, but I just couldn't do it. I managed to muster enough energy for this chapter and already started planning the next few.**

 **As you guys can see, I have Fairy Tail's main fights in the Games going on at the same time. You guys now know how Juvia got to where she is now, and the next few chapters will focus on how the other members got to the point of near-defeat.**

 **As for the Eclipse part, that will slowly be developing over the next few chapters~**

 **Again, I'm really sorry for not updating in so long. This arc is _really_ long and it gets pretty tiring to write for lol. But, it is sadly almost over, along with this story. After this arc, I have plans for taking on the Tartaros arc and might even take on the Alvarez arc if 1) There's interest and 2) I still want to write.**

 **If you guys can, please leave a review, good or bad :D They really do help!**

 **EDIT: Sorry, I forgot to credit Conbolt is Fire for beta-ing this! He has really helped improve the story so much ^^**

 **Until next time~**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters**


	27. Iron and Shadow

"And Dobengal makes his move against Juvia! The first collision between the top 2 guilds has begun!"

Gajeel's dragon ears perked up at the sound of the announcement. After his brain comprehended the words that were ecstatically blared out of the speakers, the iron dragon let out a pout.

"Tch...the rain woman gets to see some action before I can…" he mumbled to himself as he continued to walk toward the area where Mavis had instructed him to go to the night before.

 _"Rogue will likely be waiting for you at the dark building that is near the edge of the arena. Go there right away, and prepare for a tiring battle. It could go either way, but I believe in you."_

The building that Mavis had pointed out in their meeting came into Gajeel's sight. Sniffing the air, Gajeel managed to single out the single scent he had been searching for the entire day.

"Well, what do you know," he spoke under his breath, slight shock appearing in his voice, "The First really knows what she's talking about..."

Gajeel walked into the dark building that seemed as if it were isolated from the rest. It was the tallest and widest building in the area and was almost completely covered in shadows that the other buildings projected onto it from the bright sun.

He walked in, an arm covered in metal and shaped into a club as he went into high-alert.

"Alright, tiger…" Gajeel whispered into the silent building, "I can smell your stench all the way from here...where are you?"

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps creaking the floorboards came from behind the iron mage. Reacting almost instantaneously, Gajeel turned his entire body to face the sound's source. But the second he was facing the other way, a sudden force had kicked him right in the back.

Gajeel let out a cry of pain, whipping his body around to face the attacker head-on.

 _'A head on attack from behind...he's in close range...right…'_

Seeing a dark figure standing in front of him, Gajeel immediately reacted.

 _'...there…!'_

" **Iron Dragon's Club!** " Gajeel yelled, thrusting his iron arm forward as it extended in length at a rapid pace.

However, his arm felt nothing but a thin, silk-like substance grace it as it pierced right through it like it was nothing.

"Huh? Come out of hiding and face me head on you bastard." Gajeel muttered, speaking to what felt like no one at all.

"My name is Rogue Cheney," a voice echoed throughout Gajeel's area. The man kept turning his head to find the source of the sound, but it was equally distributed all over the room, giving Gajeel no hint as to where his target was.

"I am a member of Sabertooth. I am the Shadow Dragon Slayer."

"I know who you are, you son of a-"

"I control the darkness."

Gajeel was once again attacked, this time from underneath him as a large stream of black came bursting from the floorboards. Gajeel let out a shout of pain as he was knocked to the ground.

The shadow that had attacked him suddenly began to take form into a figure right before Gajeel's eyes. Though he had no show of fear on his face, Gajeel's breath came to a halt at the sound of Rogue's creepily calm voice coming closer to him.

"I _am_ the darkness."

The shadow in front of Gajeel manifested into Rogue himself. Gajeel clenched his fists as he got up to his feet again.

"Let's go then, 'Darkness'."

Gajeel lunged forward toward Rogue, both arms now turned into swords, slashing right at him. Rogue, however, responded by turned his body into shadows, unaffected by the attack.

"You never learn, do you?" Rogue's voice echoed again as his shadow form began to travel around the room once more. "Physical attacks do not work on shadows."

"Oh yeah?" Gajeel cockily smirked. The second Rogue came back into his normal human form, he extended his club arm forward once more at the Shadow Dragon, this time hitting him right in the gut. Rogue looked up at Gajeel with shock on his face as the Iron Dragon smirked.

"Both you and Sting were a one hit k.o. by Laxus," Gajeel reminded, "And he ain't as motivated as _I_ am to kick _your_ ass."

Rogue reentered shadow form to regain distance from the man, going to the edge of the room, where no light hit it at all.

"Your words have a real weight to them. I would normally be intimidated, but it's too bad you aren't as strong as him," Rogue verbally fought back, "Or even Natsu for that matter."

Gajeel clenched his fists as he ground his teeth together, pure frustration beginning to fill him.

"You're gonna regret saying that, you bastard."

Rogue steadily waited in his dark corner, feeling the shadows around him. Taking a deep breath, Rogue embraced the vast amounts of shadows around him.

 _'I've waited years to finally face you in a 1-on-1 battle…and I'm not going to hold back.'_

" **Second** **Origin…** " Rogue began to chant. Gajeel's eyes then widened as he began to realize what Rogue was doing.

" **...Release**."

And though Rogue did not pull any sudden attack toward Gajeel, and nothing else really happened after Rogue's release of his new power, the change in the atmosphere was so big that not only did Gajeel feel it, but all the spectators watching off their Lacrima Visions could feel it too.

* * *

"Gajeel…" Levy trailed off as she watched Rogue suddenly become more power, worry filling her voice as she clutched onto the balcony ledge, inching forward as if to try and join Gajeel to aid him.

"First...does everyone in Sabertooth have their Second Origin unlocked within them?" Makarov turned to the girl, concern in his voice.

"I'm not sure…" Mavis admitted, "They are all of high magic power. Compared to the members of Fairy Tail with Second Origin unlocked, the magic powers between the guilds are very close."

Makarov grumbled, "That's encouraging..."

"But I know everyone will find a way to persevere. We're Fairy Tail, remember?" the girl smiled innocently at the man.

At the sound of the first master's reassurance, Levy felt as if a heavy weight came off of her chest. Knowing Mavis was right, Levy simply yelled to the screen, "I believe in you, Gajeel!"

* * *

The shadows all around Rogue rose up into the air, staring right at Gajeel.

"Hit me with all you got," Gajeel smirked, no fear in his voice whatsoever.

Rogue complied, shooting the shadows right at Gajeel. The iron mage took his sword arm and slashed right through each one, destroying them all with ease.

"That all you got, boy?"

Gajeel, however, had spoken too soon. The shadows that he has slashed reformed into one huge shadow, attacking him head on as he was pushed back to the other side of the room.

 **"Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash,"** he chanted. Gajeel's body was then covered in shadows and thrown up into the air, attacked once more by the silky substance.

 **"Iron Dragon's Lance!"** Gajeel managed to chant while still under Rogue's shadow attack, sending a plethora of iron lances right toward the shadow mage with all his might as his back was slammed against the room's ceiling.

However, Rogue countered by raising one more wall of shadows from in front of him, silently chanting, **"Shadow Dragon's Vortex**." The lances that were shot to Rogue then entered the shadow.

Behind Gajeel's back, a shadow opened up on the ceiling, releasing the iron lances he had lunged to Rogue right to him instead.

Gajeel cried out in pain as he was forced to the ground by his own attack. As he lay on the ground, Rogue readied another shadow attack quickly.

 _'With my Second Origin finally released, my endurance has increased tenfold. I'm not losing to you today, Gajeel.'_

* * *

X782 - Phantom Lord

"Eh? You call yourself my disciple? You can't even lay a finger on me!" an arrogant voice called out as a young Rogue lay on all fours on the dirt, breathing heavily in fatigue. The young, bald boy looked down at his arms, both shaking quickly as sweat dropped onto his hands.

"Oi," the same voice called out, causing the boy to lift his head up to face him, "If you wanna join this guild, you can't be as weak as shit."

Rogue clenched his hands into fists, forcing himself onto his feet. He looked at his idol, the teen's back now facing him as he reentered the guild building, leaving the boy to bite the dust.

 _"One more!"_ Rogue suddenly cried out, causing the older person in front of him to stop and turn around, completely taken aback by Rogue's cries.

"Fight me one more time! I'll beat you this time, Gajeel-san!"

Gajeel stared at the boy in shock, watching as Rogue bowed in a plea. After a few seconds of silence, Gajeel gave a cheeky grin. "You're persistent, I'll give you that."

He took a few steps toward Rogue again, "Annoying as hell, but persistent."

"Just one more time," Rogue mumbled as he straightened his back, "I swear I'll do it this time."

The two locked eyes from across their battlefield before Gajeel finally broke the silence.

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

Rogue wiped the sweat off his forehead and took a deep breath, channeling the rest of his energy. Then, sucking in his breath, he began to chant, **"Shadow-"**

 **"Iron Dragon's Roar!"** Gajeel effortlessly yelled out, releasing a huge tornado of iron dust toward Rogue before the boy could even finish his spell. And it wasn't like this was anything new. Rogue couldn't get a single spell off every time he battled Gajeel. The defensive side was the only side he could get on.

Rogue quickly brought up a shadow from the ground, using it as a defense as the roar dispersed. However, once he lowered his shadow wall, Gajeel came flying to him with a kick right in the face.

And once again, Rogue was on his hands and knees, still below Gajeel.

"What was your name again, kid?" Gajeel spoke, a sense of hardness in his voice. He reached his hand out to the boy under him, pulling him back onto his knees.

Rogue took a few breaths before answering, "Ro...Ryos…"

"Ryos," Gajeel repeated back at him, looking the boy in the eyes, "If you really wanna become a phantom like me, you gotta learn a little."

Rogue stayed quiet, turning his head away and looking down at the ground. Gajeel then took this as a conclusion to their battle, turning around as he began walking back into the guild building. Once he got to the doorway, Gajeel stopped in his tracks. He turned his head halfway just so that he could see Rogue only out of the corner of his eye, then spoke one last sentence.

"See me in a few years. Then we'll see if you got what it takes to be one of us."

* * *

Present Day

Gajeel was forced onto his knees, shadows surrounding him everywhere as he breathed heavily. Blood slowly dripped down the side of his head as the man felt his energy slowly being sucked out of him at just the presence of the shadows around him.

"All the Fairies seem beaten to the point of no return! Could this be the end of their strong run in the Games?!" Chapati's voice hollered across the practically silent building around the two. Gajeel looked up at the nearest monitor, seeing all his guildmates down. Even Laxus, who had taken out both Sting and Rogue in one hit the other day, was knocked down by Orga with pure brute force.

"It's a shame," Rogue quietly commented as he looked at the monitors, "You guys truly were inspiring."

Rogue then summoned a shadow from the ground and used it to pin Gajeel against the wall. The shadow then expanded as Gajeel slowly began to sink into the wall.

"I win this time, Gajeel."

Seeing Gajeel on the verge of blacking out, Rogue simply turned away instead of knocking Gajeel out. Despite how much he had hated Gajeel, Rogue was never one to use overkill on an opponent. He simply pinned them to a wall and let the shadows do their work.

In complete silence, Rogue exited the building, prepared to fight his next opponent. With his Second Origin now released, Rogue looked as if he hadn't even been in a fight at all, his energy untarnished by his brief battle with Gajeel.

As he began to walk down the road, Rogue looked up at the monitors to see if they had been awarded a point yet. At this point, the shadows should have taken Gajeel out of the arena by now.

To his surprise, however, Sabertooth remained at 52 points.

"What…?"

A loud bang then echoed from the building Rogue had just exited. Rogue whipped his head around to the sound's source, only to be greeted with a hard metal punch to the face. The teen flew up into the air, flying high up before harshly landing on his side, rolling down the street.

Rogue looked up in pure shock as the sight before him.

In front of him was Gajeel, but not the Gajeel that Rogue had just defeated. The aura of the man in front of him was nearly entirely different.

Gajeel's body was covered in iron, his eyes now purely white and his hair rising up into the air. However, that wasn't the change that had shocked Rogue.

It was the fact that around Gajeel's body was now an outline of shadows, the same shadows that Rogue had intended to put Gajeel away, now swirling around the Iron Dragon at his own command.

"You...fused with...the shadows?" Rogue stuttered, still shocked at the feat Gajeel had achieved. Only one other time had he seen this, and it was none other than Gajeel's comrade Natsu with his fusion of fire and lightning.

Gajeel then gave his signature 'geehee' as an evil grin formed on his face.

 _"One more."_

Gajeel then came flying toward Rogue, his arm now in the shape of a club as he punched the guy once more in the gut.

This time, Rogue allowed himself to go into shadow mode before hitting the ground. As he used his shadow to gain distance, Rogue's thoughts began to form rapidly.

 _'Did he just say what I think he just said…?'_

And, as if the man had read Rogue's mind, his voice, too, entered the shadow.

"You think I wouldn't remember a little runt like you?"

Rogue let out a quiet gasp at the comment. _'Had he remembered all this time…?'_

With no time to ponder on the thought, Rogue felt a hand reach onto him in the shadow. Feeling his body pulled from the world of darkness, Rogue was forced back to the surface. Gajeel held him in one hand by the collar as he brought back his other hand. Whipping it forward, Gajeel chanting, **"Iron Shadow Dragon's Hardened Slash!"**

The loud sound of metal ringing echoed the area and Gajeel hit Rogue with as much force as he could. Following the iron punch, the shadows behind Gajeel hit the teen, the two-element attack hitting Rogue all the way to the end of the long street.

Rogue forced himself back onto his feet, facing Gajeel once more before getting hit once more with a kick to the face. Rogue rolled down once more before eventually coming to a halt. He stayed down this time, remaining on all fours as he breathed heavily. Blood and sweat dropped down his head and dripped onto the floor beneath him.

"I remember you now," Gajeel announced, "You were that annoying little prick from a few years ago. The one who was desperate to learn from me."

Rogue pushed himself onto his bottom, sitting down on the ground as Gajeel stood above him, his new form still pulsing erratically.

"And what about it?" Rogue brushed off Gajeel's comment, turning his head away from the mage above of him.

"During our fight the other day, I was wondering why the hell you seemed so familiar. And not just that, either. You took my techniques I had used in our battle from those years ago and made them your own."

"What are you trying to say? That I'm copying you?"

"Not that you're copying me. You took any opportunity to learn from me." Gajeel stated, causing Rogue to turn his head back toward him, looking Gajeel in the eye. As a response, Gajeel continued talking. "After I rejected you, you took the moves I used in our battle and brought them to their peak potential. You really wanted to join Phantom back then, didn't you?"

"I wanted to use them on you to finally defeat you," Rogue stood up, "And when I had finally begun to gain some steam in fighting, I went back to Phantom Lord to fight you...only to learn that it had disbanded. And that you, of all people, went to Fairy Tail, the one guild that Phantom hated, and the one guild that defeated it."

Gajeel remained silent at Rogue's words, only releasing a breath as he became speechless.

"It was hard to believe at first. The almighty Gajeel heading to _that_ guild. And so I began to train even harder in hopes of coming to you and proving that you were wrong to join them. And then...and then you guys had disappeared on Tenrou. And Wendy joined Sabertooth…"

Gajeel had opened his mouth to say something, but then stopped himself, allowing Rogue to finish the story.

"Wendy had joined Sabertooth only a few months after I did. Before, Sabertooth was a cold and emotionless place. With Jiemma as master, he had everyone do just as he says. Nothing more, nothing less. The guild had no livelihood to it. Nothing like Phantom Lord or Fairy Tail. No one could give a damn about the other members because they were just trying hard not to get kicked out. And then Wendy came to visit one day. Being a strong member of such a well-known guild, Jiemma stopped at nothing to try and get her to join, turning his whole personality a 180. And as the years went on, Wendy had helped bring the guild to a happier state. One where comrades were more than just people who share the same crest on their body."

Gajeel let out a cheeky grin at this. "They are. They're your family. They stand by you no matter what."

"I see... " Rogue trailed off, "That's why you joined them, isn't it? Because you knew they were gonna treat you like that, and you wanted to know how that felt after years in Phantom."

"I had no one at the time. I hate to admit it, but I was in a time of desperation."

"I get how you feel," Rogue mumbled, his tone almost nostalgic, "With Yukino gone, Wendy stuck in a state of…whatever it is, and Sting caring about the Games and beating you guys more than helping the guild itself...it feels as if everything is going to go back to how it was before Wendy... Dull and lifeless…with no more comrades."

"Eh? 'No more'?" Gajeel turned his head in confusion, "You're forgetting the most important one!"

Rogue gave him a confused look, "Huh?"

"Your _frog._ "

Rogue blinked a few times. Frog? What frog? Then, it had hit him.

"Frosch?" Gajeel then nodded, causing Rogue to suddenly bite back in protection over his best friend, "Frosch is a cat, not a frog!"

"An Exceed, actually…" the iron mage corrected offhandedly.

Rogue then turned to the camera, knowing Frosch was looking right at him, and gave a soft smile of assurance.

 _'Gajeel's right...even if everyone stops caring in the guild...as long as Frosch and I still do, then it'll be okay…'_

"No matter what kind of state your guild is in, always look at the bright side. Wendy isn't dead, Yukino probably isn't too far away, and _you_ can help teach the others what it means to be comrades."

Rogue looked up at Gajeel, giving his former idol a thankful look. Gajeel was right. Rufus promised Wendy's healing process wouldn't last forever, Yukino's scent still lingered in the arena, and Sting had shown more care for his guildmates recently, even standing up to Master Jiemma and fighting for their rights as members the day before.

 _'Yeah...it'll be okay...'_

 ** _'Rogue…'_** A new voice suddenly entered Rogue's head, a voice all too familiar to his ears. Rogue suddenly turned around, frantically whipping his head in several directions to find the source of the sound.

"Who's there?!"

"Eh?" Gajeel cocked his head, unsure of who Rogue was referring to.

 _'Nothing is over yet...if we lose, Sabertooth will never be the same…'_

"Get out of my head!" Rogue grabbed the sides of his head, closing his eyes and covering his ears.

"Oi...Ryos," Gajeel worriedly began, reaching an arm out to try and shake Rogue back to his senses.

 _'Gajeel has our element now...so we must now release our new power...the power you have spent years hiding…'_

"Stop!" Rogue desperately yelled. Magic began pulsing from Rogue as black markings forced themselves onto his body, etching themselves into his skin in a new pattern from his Dragon Force form. This pattern took over most of his body, leaving minimal skin to be seen.

"What the hell…?"

 _'Accept the shadow, Rogue…'_

"Ryos!" Gajeel yelled out, trying his hardest to get Rogue to snap out of it.

And suddenly, the magic around Rogue stopped pulsing. Rogue lowered his arms and stopped his shaking.

"What was that all about?" Gajeel asked Rogue, "You okay?"

Rogue then cracked an eerie smile, opening his eyes, revealing the irises that were once red now turned completely black.

"I'm more than okay now," Rogue guaranteed, his voice now having a malicious tone in it, "I'm the best I've ever been."

Gajeel took a few steps back at the sight of the boy. As he stepped backward, he felt the shadows that had been emitting behind him suddenly burst out and attack him, as if changing their allegiance. Gajeel let out a cry as the shadows took him and dragged him down the road, eventually launching him into the nearest building at full speed.

Rogue then followed behind, floating in midair as the shadows carried him from underneath.

"You should've given up earlier," the new Rogue announced, "Or, at least, not fuse with the shadows."

Gajeel spat out blood as he wiped his face off, getting back onto his feet. "Who the hell are you?"

Ignoring the man's question, Rogue continued, "Eating my shadows was probably the dumbest move you could do. After all, I am the Shadow Dragon Slayer."

Gajeel then felt his body be lifted up, the shadows that had accompanied his new form now following Rogue's command as Rogue lifted his arm up. Then, with a single whip of the arm to the side, Gajeel was bashed into the wall once more, slowly breaking the defense his iron body had set up in him.

"And as the Shadow Dragon Slayer," Rogue continued, this time swinging his arm to bash Gajeel into the wall across the room, "I control the shadows, even ones fused with another element."

"Then how about I take away that element?" Gajeel taunted back, "I'm more of an iron guy anyways!"

"But don't forget, Gajeel, the state that you were in after fighting with just your iron. I can easily put you into the state once more, or even worse."

Gajeel brushed off the threat, turning his body back into flesh and removing the shadows. With both arms transformed into iron swords, Gajeel gave his usual cocky smile, "Try me."

 **"Shadow Dragon's…"** Rogue gathered all the shadows he possibly could around his arms before thrusting himself at full speed to Gajeel, **"Wing Attack!"**

The shadows around Rogue's arms formed into wing shapes as he made his way to Gajeel, aiming right for his stomach as he pierced right through the now exposed body of Gajeel. Gajeel was thrown backward, but not before he could swing one of his arms at Rogue, hitting the boy with his iron sword and throwing him, too, to the ground.

 **"Iron Dragon's…"**

 **"Shadow Dragon's…"**

 **"...Roar!"** they both bellowed at the same time, releasing their high power roars. The shadow one easily overpowered the one of iron. Knowing this, Gajeel ran to the side of their attack and met Rogue right where he expected him: in the middle of the two roars. Rogue had planned to run through the roars and attack Gajeel with another head-on attack, but Gajeel, the original user of this technique, knew it all along.

 **"Iron Dragon's Claw!"** Gajeel yelled, encasing his leg in iron and kicking right at Rogue, who quickly went into shadow mode, avoiding the attack altogether. He then traveled behind Gajeel, reappearing in his physical form with a shadow-wrapped arm.

 **"Shadow Dragon's Slash!"** Rogue thrust his arm forward to punch Gajeel, who ducked in anticipation of the attack. Gajeel, still crouching, then swung his leg out to kick Rogue's feet, knocking his opponent over.

Gajeel was the first to get up, turning one arm into a club as he thrust it right at Rogue's laying body. Rogue rolled out of the way, proceeding to hop back onto his feet. The two stood at a standstill, staring each other down as they both breathed heavily, waiting for their opponent's next move.

* * *

"Just hold on, we're almost at the exit!" Mira announced to her Natsu-less group. The group was running at their top speed, the hazed Lucy held in Pantherlily's arms.

"...Na…" Lucy mumbled, "...Natsu…"

"Lucy!" Future Lucy looked at herself, seeing the black tint on her face slowly lifting itself off of her. "Don't worry...Natsu will be here soon. He always is…"

Lucy, still out of it, gazed at the woman talking to her. She was unable to see her face because her hood was pulled over her, but Lucy could see the blonde hair that was bouncing with every step the woman took.

A blonde hair that was easily recognizable to the girl.

"M...mom…?"

"Shhh," Future Lucy whispered, "Everything is going to be okay, darling. I know it'll be!"

But right as she said that the sounds of whistles being blown entered the area as guards were now approaching them from in front in addition to the ones chasing after them.

"Crap…" Mira muttered under her breath. She looked up at the ceiling, seeing guards from the above floors also looking at them, tranquilizing guns in hand.

"Stop where you are!" one guard yelled, "We can take this the easy way or the hard way. It's all up to you!"

"We can't let them see Lucy and other Lucy!" Happy explained, looking at Mira in worry.

"We might be able to fly out of here at a fast enough speed," Lily added, "Or at least get the two Lucy's out."

However, one of the guards ahead of them then motioned for a guard behind him to come forward. The guard then held up an unconscious Natsu, showing him to the group, a tranquilizer dart stuck in his shoulder. "He's one of you guys, no?" the guard asked.

"Natsu!" Happy worriedly called out as the others stared in shock. The guards actually managed to pin down and knock out Natsu, and get ahead of them to stop them from escaping.

"We have no choice," Mira told the others, "We have to stop."

The others complied, stopping in their tracks.

"On your knees and hands behind your head!" a guard yelled, "And put the prisoner down!"

The group continued to listen, doing exactly as told as a row of guards approached them, magic-sealing cuffs in hand. They brought over the knocked out Natsu, placing him on the ground next to the semi-knocked out Lucy.

"Natsu…" Lucy absentmindedly trailed off before eventually closing her eyes again.

As they began to cuff the group, however, a new voice entered the room, calling for the guards to stop. Mira and the others all looked to the source of the voice, recognizing it immediately.

"S-sergeant Yukino!" the guards all greeted her, immediately stopping what they were doing.

"Those aren't our enemies!" Yukino exclaimed as she finally caught up to them, nearly out of breath from all the running she had to do.

"But they took a prisoner," one guard began to explain, "They can't just be excused-"

"Leave them be," Yukino ordered, "I will handle them."

The soldier gulped at the sight of Yukino, who had an unusually serious face on it. "O...of course, sergeant…"

The guards slowly began to leave the area as Yukino began to uncuff all the group's members.

"Thank you, Yukino," Mira gave a smile to the girl.

"It's nothing, really…" Yukino smiled back, "I was planning to release Lucy-sama myself anyways. I should be the one thanking you."

The group then stood back up, Lily picking up Lucy as Happy picked up Natsu.

"Natsu," Happy called out to the boy, "Wake up, Natsu!"

Natsu then grumbled, slowly coming back to consciousness, "Happy...are we out of the palace yet…?"

"Not yet," Happy answered the boy, "But we're almost there."

Happy gave the teen a smile of assurance, making the half-awake boy smile back. "We...we did it…"

"I wouldn't be so sure yet," yet another new voice entered the scene, this one much more dark and masculine. The group all looked at its source, seeing a figure approaching them from behind.

"Oh no…" Yukino whispered, turning to Mira next to her, "Mira-sama, please get Lucy-sama out of here."

"What? Why?"

"It doesn't matter. Just go."

Mira nodded, motioning for Lily to bring Lucy out of there. As Lily began flying toward the exit, however, he was met by the figure that was once behind them. The figure came out from a shadow from the floor, revealing themselves to be none other than Future Rogue.

"I'm shocked, Yukino," Rogue looked over to the girl, "You were so quick to change allegiances. So quick to pity people. No wonder why Master always hated you."

Yukino clenched her fists at that comment, but stayed quiet, knowing the man had a point.

"Who is that?" Mira asked, "A member of Sabertooth, too?"

"Sort of," Natsu answered her, "He reeks of Rogue, but I don't think he's the Rogue we know."

The man gave a small, evil smirk. "Your dragon nose never disappoints, Natsu Dragneel."

"Rogue…?" Future Lucy whispered as she took a look at the man. She then gave a small gasp, "No way...another person from the future?"

"Rogue-sama, I beg you, please let them go! They won't interfere with the project if we ask them to stay out of it." Yukino pleaded, stepping in front of the group and looking Future Rogue right in the eyes.

Rogue, however, looked away from Yukino, his eyes darting right to his former prisoner, the half-dazed blonde still looking absentmindedly into space.

"I'll let all of you go," Rogue began, "Except Lucy."

Natsu scoffed, "Like hell that's gonna happen. That's the reason we came here in the first place!"

"Natsu…" a voice trailed off behind him. Natsu turned around, seeing the present Lucy standing up on her own for the first time since she was imprisoned.

"Lucy," Natsu walked over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders, completely disregarding Future Rogue. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Lucy touched her forehead as if to try and regain her mind fully, but the girl shook her head, "I don't remember...I can't remember…"

"Rogue-sama possessed her with one of his shadows," Yukino informed the group, glaring at the man as all trust she had in him went down the drain, "Said she needed to be kept occupied."

Natsu turned back around to Rogue, walking toward him, "So you were the one who did this to her, huh?"

Future Rogue remained unphased, simply muttering, "You view me as if I'm a traitor."

"'Cause you kinda are," Natsu bit back.

"Oh?" he smirked, "I'm the one who took all this effort to travel back in time and warn you all of a deadly attack of 10,000 dragons."

"So what? You hurt Lucy. You hurt our friend."

"You don't sound at all surprised about the dragons," Future Rogue noted, "Did Yukino already tell you?"

His eyes then darted to Future Lucy, who was still hiding underneath the hood of her cloak, "Or do you have another source?"

"It doesn't matter," Natsu answered, cracking his knuckles, "Now that we know about it, we're gonna prepare for it, with or without your help."

"Your ignorance is as big as ever, Natsu," Rogue continued to give his evil smirk at the boy.

Natsu then gave a smirk back, igniting his hands in flames, "Yeah? My flames are even bigger."

"Natsu, stand down," Mira's voice called out to him, "A battle right now isn't going to help anything."

Natsu hesitated for a moment before eventually listening to the woman, extinguishing the flames. His glare at Rogue, however, remained the same.

"Now, allow me to explain," Future Rogue began, "I am not your enemy. I am simply trying to save humanity."

"How? You're going to come up with some spell to stop all the dragons?" Natsu questioned.

Rogue shook his head, "Not a spell. A gate."

"A gate?"

"The Eclipse Gate. A defense weapon that can easily fight against the incoming dragons."

Mira turned to Yukino, who simply nodded, "He's telling the truth so far."

Rogue continued, "The gate was how we intended to fight the dragons in my timeline."

"'Intended'?" Mira asked, "What happened?"

" _Someone_ closed the gate before the Eclipse Cannon could be fired."

"Who the hell would do that?" Natsu inquired, crossing his arms.

Future Rogue stayed quiet, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath and clenching his fist. Yukino noticed this, stiffening her stance, more alert to the man's actions. She took a few steps toward Lucy, her eyes remaining of her former ally.

" _Her_." Rogue opened his eyes, his red eyes now completely black. He brought his arm up, coating it in shadows and thrusting it forward, "Lucy Heartfilia!"

The sharp stream of shadows formed the shape of a large blade, advancing right toward the girl.

"Lucy-sama!" Yukino immediately began to sprint toward her, but Rogue had anticipated this and shot his attack at full speed so that Yukino wouldn't make it in time.

Lucy, now fully aware of her surroundings, widened her eyes as the shadow blade came racing toward her at superhuman speed.

"Lucy!" Natsu yelled out, reaching his arm out to grab the blade, narrowly missing it.

And suddenly, blood splattered all over the floor.

The blood, however, didn't belong to Lucy, or rather, _this timeline's_ Lucy.

Shock filled everyone's eyes at the sight of a black cloak falling to the floor, falling off of its owner, Future Lucy.

Future Lucy winced in pain as the blade impaled right through her, bleeding massively from her chest.

The whole room remained silent as Lucy's eyes fully realized who had saved her.

The woman she had mistaken for her mother earlier was, in reality, herself.

* * *

 _ **The death of a comrade brings rise to new flames...**_

 _ **To be continued in Chapter 28: Collision of Time**_

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! Sorry it took awhile again ^^;;**

 **As stated before, I will not be going as in depth with all the battles in the 5th day of the Games. In fact, I think focusing on just Gajeel and Juvia's battles the most is best since I don't want to stray too much attention from the real focus of the story: The Eclipse Gate.**

 **I know Wendy is still missing, but don't worry! She'll be back in the next few chapters.**

 **Along with posting this chapter, I am also updating the previous chapters from the story! I have chapters 1-4 rewritten, and plan on working on chapter 5 soon. The reason for this is because I really hated the way I wrote before (fun fact: this story is a year old now as of today (2/6)! OMG!) and want to improve the quality of those chapters. Nothing too drastic is changing plot-wise, but there are going to be more details added to the chapter. The chapters updated will have a little A/N indicating that they're edited, so if you guys have the time, I hope you check that out! And while you're at it, check out the new poll I placed on my profile :)**

 **And final piece of info: I have changed my tumblr username to "wendiuh" (yes, it is a combination of "Wendy" and "uh"...I'm creative ik...) and may or may not change my name on here, we'll see.**

 **As per tradition (which I managed to forget last chapter), please add ";^;" at the end of your review if you read this A/N.**

 **Special thanks to Conbolt is Fire for beta reading this, and hope you all have a good one!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters.**


	28. Collision of Time

**A/N: Guess who's back! Sorry for disappearing but I'm here again! If anyone needs a refresher on what happened in the last few chapters, here ya go:**

 **-Wendy is out because her memories were altered by Rufus under Jiemma's command and now her mental state is all over the place**

 **-The last day started and Dobengal is against Juvia and Rogue vs Gajeel started (don't expect me to go into detail of the other canon fights. the only other difference is that Gray and Lyon are against each other but i'm not going to go into detail with that one)**

 **-Future Rogue revealed the future to Natsu & co.**

 **-Future Rogue killed Future Lucy**

* * *

The night before

"You're still up," a voice had called out to Future Lucy. The girl, who was on the balcony of the inn's room, turned around to see who was speaking to her.

"Natsu," she acknowledged the boy walking toward her.

"It's almost 3," the pink-haired teen commented, "Can't sleep?"

Future Lucy shook her head, "Not that. It's just...surreal being here. Today is now July 6th, and that means tomorrow, the world is going to be-"

"Lucy," he interrupted, "The future ain't set in stone. Not while we're here to stop it."

He gave her a reassuring smile, a smile that the girl hadn't seen in so long. She couldn't help but tear up, quickly wiping those tears from falling as she turned back around to face the view that the balcony had given them.

"I'm sorry," she quietly sobbed as more tears forced their way out at a rate too quick for her to wipe away, "I was too weak to save anyone…and I took all this effort to come back here, but failed to even form a legitimate plan…"

"Just leave it to us," Natsu promised, "With all of us together, we can do anything!"

"Natsu…" she trailed off, turning around to face him, "What if-"

She was cut off by the feeling of warmth suddenly hitting her forehead. She looked up, seeing Natsu resting his forehead onto hers, his eyes closed and his mouth smiling softly. The woman blushed at his closeness, her tears now falling rapidly down her cheeks as she looked up at him.

"Natsu…?"

"I said we'll take it from here," he murmured to her, "You did enough for us already."

Future Lucy remained speechless as he continued, "Thank you for protecting our future."

* * *

Present time

" _Her_. Lucy Heartfilia!"

Future Rogue shot a stream of shadows at max speed, aiming his arm right at his target, the present day Lucy Heartfilia.

Everyone in the room stood in shock and horror, screaming out Lucy's name. Yukino, who had been anticipating the attack from Future Rogue, ran right toward her as Natsu reached his arm out to grab the shadow blade, just barely missing it.

However, no one in the room had paid attention to the cloaked woman who was right by Lucy. The instant Rogue had yelled out her name, she immediately lunged forward in front of the girl, allowing the quick shadow attack to hit her instead. Blood splattered all over the floor as the cloak flew off the woman with the impact of the hit, landing next to her as she hit the ground hard. She placed her left hand on top of the wound as she winced in pure pain.

"H...hey!" Lucy called out to the woman, "You just…!"

The younger of the two ran to the woman, grabbing a hold of her head and resting it in her lap as she looked at the wound. The rest of the room was silent in shock, with Natsu just blankly staring at the two Lucy's, his arm, the arm that had been * _this_ * close to grabbing the blade, twitched rapidly.

"So there _were_ two of you…" Future Rogue muttered, "I knew your smell was too strong in here…"

Ignoring him, Lucy looked at her older self, grabbing the woman's face."Hold on! We'll get Porlyusica to take a look at you, just stay with me!"

"There's...no use…" the woman choked out, the light in her eyes already beginning to burn out as more blood dripped out of her wound.

Lucy placed her free hand on the wound to stop the bleeding, looking back at the woman, confusion still stuck to her expressing, "Y-you're...me…" Lucy whispered, "B...but how…" However, Lucy had already known the answer to her question. If Rogue was able to come back from the future, there was no doubt that Lucy would make the same decision herself to protect her friends.

"I didn't close the gate...I never would…"

"I know," Lucy nodded, tears dripping from her face, "I know…" Lucy sniffed up the snot that was coming from her nose as she continued to talk to her future self "But why?" Lucy asked the woman, "Why did you protect me?!"

"Is that even a question…?" the woman gave a slight smile, "If you died, there's no doubt I would have disappeared anyways…" She then looked her past self in the eyes, "Dying in my own arms...who would have thought…"

"LUCY!" a voice cried out in a scream, causing everyone to look to its owner, Happy.

Happy ran right to Future Lucy, grabbing ahold of the injured woman's arm as tears streamed down his face.

"Happy…"

"Don't go, Lucy! Don't go, please!"

"It's okay, Happy. To be able to die beside all of my friends...All of the friends I hadn't seen in years...it's kinda heartwarming…"

"No! I refuse to believe it!" Happy cried out. The woman pet his head with her sole arm as Happy grabbed it with all his might, refusing to let go.

"I'm not even...from this world anyways…But the me from this time, she'll live on with her comrades. I know it. So don't be sad-"

"Of course I'm going to be sad!" the blue cat yelled out, "I don't care if you're from 7 years from the future or 70! Lucy is Lucy! You're my friend! Don't ever tell me to not be sad!"

Happy tucked his head into Future Lucy's shoulder as he cried into it, the woman grabbing onto him tighter as she, too, began crying.

Future Lucy then looked up at Lucy, "Show me...your guildmark…" she whispered.

Lucy obliged, releasing her right hand from the wound, more blood pouring out of it as the pressure was relieved off of it. The blood-covered hand was then grabbed by Future Lucy's hand, embracing it tightly.

"Your...your right arm…" Lucy looked at the now exposed stub that was once Future Lucy's full arm.

Future Lucy, with her eyes beginning to droop, looked around the room.

"Thank you all for doing this…and thank you for letting me see everyone one more time…" Future Lucy weakly smiled. Her eyes then met those of Natsu's, "Natsu...I'm glad I was able to hear your voice one more time…"

Natsu's entire body was shaking as his face went dark. Unable to say a single word, he clenched his fists.

"I wanted to have...more adventures…" Future Lucy closed her eyes as she felt the tears of her past self drip onto her.

With one last breath, the woman said her final 3 words.

"Protect...the future…"

Lucy then began to bust out crying, loudly letting all her tears out as she cried out over her body. Happy did the same as Mira, Pantherlily, Yukino, and Natsu stood in silence, tears dripping down their face.

"The Lucy from my time is long dead…" Rogue whispered to himself, his face still emotionless despite the sadness in the room, "Could there be...many futures…?"

"Shut up!" Lucy lashed out at the man, "Just shut up! Stop talking about all your future bullcrap!"

Rogue clenched his teeth as he glared at the girl, "There could be over a million futures possible, but that doesn't matter. You're still going to close the gate."

"I'm not going to close the goddamn gate!" she yelled, tears still falling down her face, "Future me said so. And I believe myself!"

"That doesn't matter!" Rogue yelled back, "The future is set in stone. Fate will not be wavered. There's no changing it! You're going to close the gate, and everything will be ruined!"

Rogue then formed another shadow sword in his palms, anger now radiating off of him. "Destiny will not change! No matter how much you change the past!"

Yukino silently gasped at this. With all the anger in Future Rogue's voice, there was no doubt he was telling the truth this time.

"So you were leading everyone on with the whole 'kill Zeref' plan, too?!" she looked at the man, pain in her voice, "Everything was just going to stay the same anyways?! My sister would still suffer?"

"You and the whole royal family...you're all fools," Future Rogue spat out at her, "To think you could alter history in such a way…"

"Then what are you after?" Yukino asked, "Why do you need the Eclipse Gate then?! If the future isn't going to change then why even try anymore?!"

"You all fail to look at the big picture. The dragons that killed everyone in Crocus can be stopped with Eclipse. Though people are still going to die and Acnologia is still going to take over, none of the people in Crocus, none of your comrades, will!" The shadow in Rogue's palm grew larger as he prepared another strike to Lucy.

"Shut the hell up with your lies!" a new voice hollered back, belonging to none other than Natsu. Natsu shot a huge stream of fire to Future Rogue, who simply used a shadow to shield himself with ease. The force of the fire, however, temporarily overwhelmed Rogue as he was sent back a few feet.

"I won't let anyone steal Lucy's future!"

Rogue, taken aback at the force of Natsu, looked at the teen. He was glaring right at Rogue, his eyes red. Half of his face was covered in the shadow of his hair while the other was still light, showing the single tear that streamed down his face.

 _"Protect the future…"_ Future Lucy's last words repeated in Natsu's head. Natsu simply nodded as the tear that was falling from his face dripped onto the ground.

"I promise I will!"

* * *

"All the Fairies seem beaten to the point of no return! Could this be the end of their strong run in the Games?!"

Juvia looked at the screen as she saw all her comrades fallen, beaten down by their opponents.

 _'...Juvia is...sorry…'_

"I finally get my revenge on you today," Dobengal's voice came into focus. As he lit one hand with a rainbow beam, he said, "This is for my father."

Dobengal shot the beam right at the wounded girl, its bright and colorful lights engulfing the entire area around all of them.

"Oh, my! Dobengal looks like he just used his finishing move!" Chapati's voice yelled in the speakers.

Dobengal completed the attack, allowing the dust and debris to settle as he stared on, waiting to see Juvia finally knocked out. The area grew silent as wind brushed against his face from the blast. Dobengal released his clenched fists as he felt, for the first time in years, finally at ease.

 _'Father...are you proud of me?'_

The dust finally settled as Dobengal continued to stare at where Juvia once laid. As he searched for her figure, however, there was nothing.

His eyes widened as his fists clenched once more, letting out a confused, "What?!"

 _'...but Juvia can't let you have this battle!'_

"Physical attacks do not work on Juvia," the girl's voice echoed in the area. Dobengal turned his head to look for her, but could not find her.

As he took a few steps back, his foot landed in a puddle. The sudden feeling of water caused the ninja to look down at his feet, only to see that, next to his foot was the face of his opponent.

"Juvia is made of water," Juvia announced as a large blast of water shot out from the puddle, sending the young man flying high into the air as Juvia regained her physical form.

"Juvia is sorry for what happened to you, but…" the girl then looked at the TV monitor, seeing all her guildmates in the arena rising back onto their feet again, ready for another fight. She the shot a determined look right at the ninja, sending chills down his spine, "Juvia can't let her guild down!"

Dobengal landed on the ground, managing to regain aerial control of his body as he landed with ease.

"Why you…" he trailed off as he ignited one of his palms with a rainbow beam, shooting it right at her.

Juvia, however, knew better. If the attacks were strong enough to do damage to her, she simply had to avoid them.

And that's exactly what she did.

Juvia turned her body into water as she separated it, creating a hole in the wall of water right where the beam would have pierced her, allowing it to go through the hole with ease.

Dobengal angrily brought his arm back as he got into a running stance, running right toward the woman before vanishing into thin air. He then reappeared behind Juvia, spinning his leg around to kick her, but Juvia turned her body back into water, the force of the attack going right through her.

 **"Water Slicer!"** Juvia yelled out as she regained her physical form, swiping her arm across as water came rushing toward the ninja in slices, hitting him directly as the force cut parts of his clothes.

Blood came dripping down the newly exposed flesh and Dobengal gritted his teeth together, his eyes going dark as his rage pulsed in him.

 **"Rainbow Beam: Slice!"** the ninja yelled out. Small beams came out of his fist like claws. Dobengal jumped up into the air and swiped his arm out. The claw-like rainbow beams came racing toward Juvia quickly, only to pass through the woman with no damage taken whatsoever. Dobengal then threw a smoke bomb at the ground. The second the grenade hit the floor, a dark green mist came spewing out of it, different from the one he had thrown earlier.

Instinctively, Juvia covered her mouth and nose, thinking the gas was poisonous. However, when she did that, Dobengal used this as an opening to attack her with more of his claw-like attacks, this time managing to get her.

 _'A distraction?!'_ Juvia observed the man's actions as she was pushed across the ground.

 **"Red Laser!"** Dobengal shouted, pointing his palm at Juvia. A pure red beam of light emitted off of his palm at a rapid pace, hitting Juvia. The girl managed to turn her body into water once more, but still took some damage from the attack, the high temperature of the light burning her in the shoulder.

 **"Blue Laser!"** he yelled once more, throwing a blue light at the woman. When the attack hit her in the other shoulder, her shoulder became encased in ice.

 _'His different colors produce different effects…'_ Juvia observed as she winced in pain, barely managing to move her arms enough to form a water wall in front of her.

 **"Rainbow Beam…"** the man readied yet another attack against the woman, forming an orb around his palms, **"Black Ray!"**

The orb around his palms then shot out a huge black beam of light, going right through Juvia's water defense. Juvia barely managed to get out of the way from the attack, ducking a split second before she was going to be hit.

The black light hit the wall that was behind Juvia, almost immediately disintegrating it on impact. Juvia's eyes widened in disbelief as the entire building behind her came crashing down, nearly hitting her in the process.

Juvia once more got onto her feet, jumping into the air as she avoided the falling debris of the building behind her. She gathered water behind her, creating 2 rotating waves as she chanted, **"Water Nebula!"**. She then thrusted her arms forward, sending the spiraling waves at her opponent, hitting him directly before he could teleport away.

Juvia landed on the ground once more, this time right in front of the nearly drowned Dobengal. With a fierce look locked into both of their eyes, they began a staredown once more, knowing their battle was far from decided.

* * *

"I promise I will!" Natsu yelled out, eyes of sadness and anger glaring right at the man in front of him.

Future Rogue let out a small laugh, "You think you can best me?" he smirked, "A man 7 years ahead of you?"

"I know I can," Natsu spat out at the man, his body still twitching from the shock of the recent events overwhelming him.

The rest of the group simply looked at each other before nodding. They began to run towards the exit, leaving the battle to Natsu.

"Lucy, we have to go," Mira bent down to talk to the girl, who was still holding her future self's body in her lap, her blood seeping into her clothes.

"I can't…" Lucy whispered, tears still streaming down her face, "I can't leave…"

"You're Rogue's target," Mira explained, "You have to get as far from here as possible. Leave this to Natsu. He can handle it."

Lucy nodded, gently placing the head of her future self onto the ground. Lucy placed a kiss onto her forehead, whispering, "I'll make sure we get the best adventures, okay?" before standing back up. She and Mira then went to join the rest of the group in exiting the palace. Lucy gave one final look to Natsu, watching him angrily attack Rogue with all his might, before running to the outside.

 **"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"** Natsu screamed as he thrusted his arm at Rogue at full speed. Rogue simply gave a smirk, grabbing onto the fist before it could even hit him and extinguishing the flames it had been encased in.

 **"Shadow Dragon's Slash,"** Rogue muttered, covering his arm in shadows and uppercutting Natsu, sending the boy flying into the air.

Natsu, however, regained aerial control by creating jets from his feet. Engulfing his whole body in fire, Natsu charged right at Rogue from the air, crashing into him at full force, causing the two to go flying toward the wall.

Once against the wall, Natsu grabbed Rogue by the collar. Encasing his fist in fire once more, he punched Rogue across the face repeatedly.

After a few hits, Rogue smirked and turned into a shadow, escaping from Natsu's hold and distancing himself from the teen.

"There is no point in fighting," Rogue muttered to the boy, "You cannot win, and even if you do win, it will gain you nothing. Lucy will still close the gate. Dragons will take over your world and bring everyone you love down."

"Shut the hell up," Natsu grumbled, his face now completely dark, "You took something precious to me right in front of my eyes...do you have any idea what the consequence of that is?"

"What? A glorified speech on the power of friendship?" Rogue muttered, unamused.

Natsu let out a ' _tch_ ', spatting out, "I don't give a damn about what you have to say anymore. I'm not letting you get away with something like that."

"Suit yourself," Future Rogue shrugged, going back into a shadow and travelling across the room, getting out of Natsu's line of sight. "In my time period, you should already be dead at the hands of another. Killing you myself, however, shouldn't have a huge impact on the future. In fact, I may be doing time herself a favor in ridding you before you make things worse."

Natsu eyed the entire room, trying to find his opponent's location, only to be greeted with a plethora of shadows being shot from all angles.

Natsu screamed out in pain as the rain of shadows continued on, slicing him in various parts of the body as cuts placed themselves onto his skin.

Natsu then managed to create a ring of fire around his body, using it as a shield against the attack. Seeing Future Rogue come up from his shadow form across the room, Natsu sucked in the fire shield around him before yelling out, **"Fire Dragon's Roar!"** toward him.

The huge blast of fire came racing toward the man, only for Rogue to simply put his palm up toward the flame, extinguishing it before it could even hit him. As Natsu's eyes widened in shock, Rogue smiled.

"I told you, I am stronger than you now. I know all your moves. I know exactly to what extent your magic power reaches. You stand no chance."

Natsu relaxed his face as he took a deep breath. If Future Rogue knew Natsu's spells, Natsu simply had to learn Future Rogue's extent of his power. With a serious face painted onto him, the teen simple said to him, "Try me."

Future Rogue formed a large ball of shadows in his palm, gathering it rapidly as he came running toward Natsu. Jumping up into the air, Future Rogue chucked the ball of shadows at the ground underneath Natsu.

 **"Shadow Dragon's…"**

* * *

"...Eruption!" present day Rogue chanted, the shadows he had thrown at Gajeel, identical to the ones his future self was using against Natsu, now blasting underneath the young man, throwing him into the air as chunks of debris flew into the air with him, creating a crater in the ground.

Gajeel managed to regain aerial control of himself. Coating his entire body in iron, the effect of gravity on him became stronger as he came crashing onto the ground. Gajeel punched his fist on the ground at the moment of impact, the force of his iron body alone creating a tremor in the earth underneath the two. The dirt around the two rose up in a circle pattern, starting from where Gajeel was and radiating outward, eventually hitting the possessed Rogue in its path.

 **"Iron Dragon's Roar!"** Gajeel yelled out as Rogue was in the air, hitting his opponent directly. Rogue flew even higher into the air, the blast pushing him across many buildings in the arena, landing blocks away from where he and Gajeel just were.

Rogue slowly got up from where he had crashed, pushing off the bits of walls that crumbled on top of him. As he slowly got up off the ground, he brushed the dirt on his clothing. Staying silent, the teen lowered his head a little, closing his eyes and listening to the sounds around him. Hearing Gajeel running on his way over to him, Rogue went back on alert as he prepared for the continuation of their battle.

Amidst his deep concentration on his hearing, there was a large voice booming from the speakers.

"And it looks like the alliance between Mermaid Heel and Lamia Scale is officially called off!" Chapati's voice suddenly shouted through the intercom. Rogue's head looked to the monitor, seeing the live feed the other cameras were projecting.

Rogue observed the events on the monitor, seeing it focus onto none other than Minerva, who was wearing her smirk on her face as usual.

* * *

"My, my," Minerva spoke in her quiet voice that managed to send chills down anyone's spine, "Looks like you created a mess."

In front of her was Lamia Scale's Sherria Blendy, the pink-haired girl's eyes full of disbelief as she stared at the woman.

"You...you just…"

Sherria's body began to shake as she looked down at her hands.

"I…"

Minerva let out a laugh. "What kind of alliance attacks its own members?"

The woman turned around, looking at the knocked out and beaten Millianna of Mermaid Heel, who was just working with Sherria in an effort to defeat Minerva.

Seeing the many cuts and bruises on the girl's body, the woman said to the girl, "You really did a number on her, didn't you?"

The sound of a beep rang through the monitors as Sherria looked at the screen.

 **Lamia Scale +1**

"No...this can't be…" the girl whispered. She then turned her head back at Minerva, "That attack was aimed at you…"

Sherria had fired her most powerful spell, **God Slayer Secret Art: Heavenly Gathering of Clouds** , at Minerva with all her might, only for Minerva to use her Territory magic to switch spots with Millianna, making the girl take the hit instead, rendering her completely unconscious and beaten.

"What the hell?!" a new voice cried out from behind the two, causing them both to turn their attentions toward her.

Behind them was Mermaid Heel member, Araña, who was running straight toward Millianna.

"This just got much more interesting, didn't it?" Minerva smirked as she looked over to Sherria, the girl trying her absolute hardest to ignore the woman as she repeatedly apologized to Araña.

Sherria made her way to Millianna and Araña, offering to heal her.

"It wasn't meant to be like this…" Sherria desperately explained to the woman.

Araña stared at the girl before quietly muttering, "Just stop talking, okay?"

Sherria nodded as she continued to heal Millianna. The cat-like girl's body began to move slightly, groaning as she struggled to open her eyes.

"Thank goodness…" Araña let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry, Millianna-san! I didn't mean to...to…" Sherria tried to apologize, only for her to break down in tears.

Millianna didn't say anything, still weak from her injuries, but managed to give Sherria a reassuring look.

The three girls sat in peace, completely silent as they became unsure of what to do next.

Minerva, however, had a solution for them.

"Your attack on her ended the two guilds' 'alliance' to defeat me and the rest of my guild," Minerva's voice echoed from behind the girls, "Shouldn't that mean you two are free to attack one another?"

"Eh?"

"I mean, you're both sitting right next to each other, each a threat to the other's guild's status and ranking in the country. Yet you're just going to sit there in silence?"

The girls gave each other a confused look before looking back at Minerva.

Minerva shook her head. "I guess you lesser guilds never learn…"

Her hands began to glow as two beams of magic released themselves onto the girls, hitting them directly as the two screamed in pain, the force sending them flying back towards the wall, effectively knocking them out right away.

"It's survival of the fittest when it comes to these Games. There's only one goal: win. No need for senseless alliances and friendships."

A beep came from the monitor as 2 points were added to Sabertooth's score.

 **Sabertooth: 54 points**

 **Fairy Tail: 51 points**

 **Mermaid Heel: 41 points**

 **Lamia Scale: 41 points**

As the crowd reacted to Minerva's defeat of the 2 girls, the woman, with a rather amused look on her face, looked at the screen, her eyes locking onto the part that showed the current battle between Erza and Kagura.

She gave out a quiet chuckle, making her way toward her next set of prey.

* * *

Natsu wiped the blood dripping from his mouth, exhaling heavily as he tried his hardest to catch his breath.

"Damn…" he muttered under his breath, "You're really annoying…"

"I can say the same to you," Future Rogue replied coldly, his voice flat. "No matter how many times you fall you never give up, do you?"

"Yeah," Natsu gave a weak smile as he ignited his arm in flames, "That's what makes me a Fairy Tail wizard."

"That's what makes you ignorant," the man corrected, "You push yourself to the limit too many times and one day, you'll come crashing down." Rogue's face went hard at these words, slight pain forming in his expression, so slight that one who didn't know what he experienced would probably never notice.

 _'I know that fact all too well,'_ he thought to himself, painful memories of his own past coming to mind as he clenched his teeth together.

"That day can wait…" Natsu claimed, unshaken by Rogue's words as the flames around his arm getting bigger. The teen jumped high into the air, preparing his attack quickly.

 **"Fire Dragon's…"** Natsu took a deep breath, mustering the energy that was still in him and coming down at Future Rogue at full speed, **"** **...Iron Fist!"**

Natsu's force came crashing down onto Future Rogue's body, hitting the man before he could go into his shadow form to escape.

Rogue flew back a bit, hitting the wall as his body became surrounded by the hot flames Natsu was producing. However, with a hard surface now behind him, Rogue slipped into his shadow form once more and gained more distance from the boy.

Natsu's entire body was ignited in brilliant flames. A sound of thunder roared erupted from around him as lightning surrounded his body.

 **"Lightning Flame Dragon Mode!"**

Future Rogue gave an evil smile at this, grinning ear to ear as he let out a small laugh.

"So this is the power that could almost defeat Jiemma and Wendy?"

Natsu remained silent, staring right into Rogue's eyes with pure hatred.

 **"Lightning Flame Dragon's…"** Natsu engulfed his arms in flames and lightning as he jumped into the air once more. He raised his arms up high into the air before whipping them downwards, the fire and lightning coming at an insane speed straight toward Rogue.

 **"...Firing Hammer!"**

The attack hit Rogue down toward the floor and the surrounding area became caught in an explosion of the 2 fused elements, blowing up the ground and walls by the two and causing debris to fly everywhere.

As the debris settled, Natsu stood still, catching his breath after exhausting a good amount of his power left into that attack.

Emerging from the fallen chunks of debris was Rogue. However, the attack seemed to do only minimal damage, tearing the man's clothes and only giving him an injury on his arm, where Natsu's point of impact was.

The smile on the man's face was nowhere to be seen as he coldly began, "This is the power that was deemed so fearful? I expected much more. How pitiful."

Natsu's eyes widened in shock. Seeing one of his most powerful attacks being completely shaken off was a sight Natsu barely ever experienced.

However, he couldn't let this get to him. Not now.

Acknowledging Rogue's high magic power, he got into another fighting stance, inviting the man for another round of battle.

Future Rogue couldn't help but laugh, "You still think you can best me? Well then, I guess that's enough time for playing around. Allow me to show you what our 7 year difference has done."

The man then stood up straight, generating a mass amount of shadows from the ground to surround him. The ground then began to quiver as wind in the room picked up.

"What…?" Natsu trailed off, holding his arms up to shield himself from the flying debris. As dust around them began to fly, Natsu squinted his eyes to get a better look at what was happening with his opponent.

As the shadows spiraled around Rogue, they soon became accompanied by a bright, white light, the two powers intertwining with one another.

A soft light then surrounded Rogue's injured arm, the light seemingly healing said injury, cleaning up the blood and leaving no burn mark on the arm whatsoever.

Natsu could only gasp as the magic power radiated off of Rogue. The man's ponytail released itself as his hair began to rise upward. The right side of his body was now cloaked in shadows, dark in color. The wind flying in the area then traveled toward the man, adding itself into the mix of the other powers.

"No way…" Natsu whispered under his breath, lowering his arms as his eyes took in the sight in front of him.

 **"Shadowed White Sky Dragon Mode."**

* * *

 _ **The new power of Rogue is revealed! The power of 3 elements is what keeps the future at stake! What is to come of this lengthy battle?**_

 **To be continued in chapter 29: The Power of Dragons**

* * *

 **A/N: Damnnnn Future Rogue...he's borderline OP lol. Anyways, the next chapter will be out sometime next week! Special thanks to my friend Mike Uzumaki-Heartfilia for betareading this chapter!**

 **As always, please leave a review! It can literally be anything. I will appreciate any type of review you have (including ones that just look like you're smashing the keyboard lol). I remember someone telling me that people don't leave reviews sometimes because they feel like they're going to be judged. But let me tell you this: I will not judge you and neither will most authors on here. Unless you send unnecessary hate, all reviews are welcome.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Things are finally picking up the pace again!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters**


	29. The Power of Dragons

**"Shadowed White Sky Dragon Mode."**

Natsu felt shivers go down his spine, the pure power emitting off of his opponent strong enough to probably bring the whole castle to shambles.

"Shadowed...White….Sky…?"

"How many times must I explain this, Natsu? I am 7 years past you. 7 years is plenty of time to change. Plenty of time to train."

"3 elements...how is that possible?"

The man gave a smirk. "The power of the Triple Dragons at my fingertips. The power I _stole_ from Sting and Wendy after they were killed...no...after _I_ killed them!" Future Rogue gave a horrifying laugh as his eyes shot wide open in absolute madness. His face went dark as his laugh echoed around the room, a laugh that would send chills down even the toughest of people's spines.

"...To your own friends?" Natsu gave out a gasp in shock at his words before turning the shock in his face into anger. Fire reignited itself around Natsu's body, the teen yelling out in rage, "Damn you! You son of a bitch!"

Future Rogue's laugh came to a halt as he calmed his face down. Closing his eyes, he taunted, "Come, Salamander. Allow me to show you firsthand what the extent of my power is."

 **"Fire Dragon's Claw!"** Natsu swung his leg around while charging toward the man, performing a spinning roundhouse mid air, aiming to hit the man right in the face.

Future Rogue, with his eyes still closed, caught his foot before throwing Natsu straight onto the ground, the brute force alone breaking the floor as cracks radiated off of the point of impact, stretching wide and far. Natsu, however, quickly got up from this, ignoring the pain coursing through his veins as he went back into a fighting stance.

 **"Shadowed White Sky Dragon's…"** Rogue's eyes opened, releasing a wave of shining light as his power continued to pulse around him. The 3 elements began to spin rapidly around the man, eventually going quick enough to divide themselves into multiple beams of light, shadows, and wind.

 **"…Rough Silk!"**

The beams shot straight at Natsu, piercing into various parts of his body as blood splattered across the floor, the teen screaming in utter pain.

Rogue took a deep breath, inhaling the air around him as he prepared his next attack.

 **"Shadowed White Sky Dragon's Roar!"**

The breath attack was released, large enough the engulf the entire room in his power as multiple pieces of debris came flying from all over, the room now completely destroyed.

Rogue wiped his mouth, barely breaking a sweat as he saw Natsu on the ground, his entire body rendered unconscious as he bled out from various places thanks to the attacks.

Future Rogue laughed once more at the sight. "You were never a threat for me, Natsu Dragneel."

The man walked closer to the knocked out body, pacing around it slowly as he continued his monologue, "Though it would have been a much bigger mess if you were able to do any significant damage on me. I never did truly pick up on the healing magic as well as Wendy could, and don't even get me started on those _damn_ enchantments."

"Though I guess it doesn't really matter," Rogue bent his legs, squatting over the ground as he watched Natsu's blood continued to slowly come out of his injuries, the teen's eyes shut as his breath began to slow, "After all, her power is still amazingly strong, regardless of how lacking it is compared to it with proper healing and enchanting training. Jiemma really did choose right when deciding with of the 3 Dragon Slayers he was going to spend the most time training."

Rogue stood back up and grabbed his sword from its sheathe, whipping it out as he brought it high in the air.

"Now when it comes to _your_ power," the man smirked, "You may be annoying, but you can sure pack a punch. And that much stamina? It really does get annoying when used against you. Let's just hope you still have some ethernano left in you to consume."

Rogue then let out another laugh in victory. "Your future ends here, Natsu Dragneel!"

Rogue's arms came swinging down toward his opponent at full speed, preparing to finally end his battle with Natsu.

* * *

Juvia came crashing to the ground, rolling over multiple times in the dirt as her opponent remained in the air, the ninja utilizing his light beam magic to keep him holstered up there.

Juvia swung her body around back onto her feet as she chucked more water streams toward Dobengal's way, using the water to cut the beams holding Dobengal up, causing him to come falling down.

As he fell down, Dobengal activated his teleportation magic, vanishing into thin air before appearing behind Juvia once more. Covering his leg in bright light, he swung it around at a rapid speed, aiming right for Juvia's side, only for her to turn her body into water and avoid the attack altogether.

As Dobengal's kick followed through Juvia's body and back toward the ground, Juvia regained her physical form and grabbed the man's leg before throwing him into the air once more, following the throw with a stream of water to crash into him.

 _'Juvia's magic power is running low…'_ the girl thought to herself, _'But that has to be the same for Dobengal, too.'_

Catching her breath, the woman remained in her battle stance, ready for Dobengal's next move.

The ninja was beyond frustrated at this point. Not only had he already used his trump card earlier, but the girl completely brushed it off by turning into water. And now, he could barely produce more light beams without losing his breath for a few moments.

He gritted his teeth together and closed his eyes, trying his hardest to keep his calm. His entire body twitched as his veins came popping out in his skin. In a fit of rage, he shot his eyes open. "Damn you!" he yelled out as he coated his entire body in light.

"Just stay down, god dammit!"

He came racing toward Juvia now, his power lighting the entire area around him.

Juvia instinctively put up a water barrier around her entire surroundings, only for Dobengal's pure force to crash right through it. He raised both of his arms flew up as beams of light shot up into the air, following his arms' movements as he prepared to swing them down with all his might.

The woman felt time seemingly slow down as she and her opponent locked eyes, blue ones meeting intense dark brown ones. The anger that was ignited so vibrantly in the man caught Juvia off guard as she could feel his determination radiating off of him.

Juvia knew he wasn't going to back down. That this was his final push for victory. His final burst of energy that he was saving for this moment: the moment he gets justice for his father.

 **"Grand…"** Dobengal began to chant as more light gathered into his control. Channeling the rest of his magic power into this one last attack, Dobengal knew this was now or never. This was his moment. His father's moment.

Part of Juvia wanted to stay still. Let him hit her with the rest of his force and give him a victory, one much more meaningful than his guild staying at number 1 in the country.

But the other part knew what was right. She had to keep fighting, no matter what.

Turning her head, Juvia eyed an escape route. Her eyes traveled all over the area before landing onto the perfect opportunity: a stream of water coming from a gutter of a nearby building, rolling down the street quickly.

 **"...Blade!"** Dobengal finished, swing his arms down with full force as the light followed, swallowing the whole area into the attack as the entire section of the arena exploded into bright colors.

Juvia jumped to the side, reaching her arm out as far as it could go, hoping to make even the smallest contact with the water coming out of the gutter.

The light blinded the woman as she kept reaching for the water. ' _Come on…'_ she thought to herself, _'Just a little more reach...!'_

The light attack continued to engulf the buildings around the two, causing many of them to completely fall apart as Dobengal landed on the ground, breathing heavily with his eyes drooping in fatigue.

The light emitted one last bright wave before finally dying out, revealing the damage the attack had done.

The whole arena that was watching the fight was silent, their jaws dropped at the attack. Even Chapati and the other commentators were left speechless, never before seeing an attack like this before.

The dust settled down and Dobengal opened his eyes wide to look around for Juvia's body.

And, to everyone's surprise, she wasn't there.

Dobengal let out a weak laugh, knowing what had happened, as he was then greeted with a kick to his back, followed by water streams pushing him across the street and into the nearest wall, the force making the man break through the wall and land in the half-destroyed building.

He lowered his mask, revealing the blood dripping from his mouth from the kick as he let his head fall back, facing the ceiling above him, no energy left to get up.

"Damn...what the others said about you really is true. You people never give up, do you?" he weakly muttered to the woman he had despised all though his life as she stood, completely unharmed from his attack, staring down at him from across the street.

"You are right when it comes to your father. He deserves justice," Juvia began as she walked toward him, "But, when it comes to Juvia's guild, Juvia must win, no matter what."

Dobengal lifted his head back up to face her, spitting blood at the ground before looking up to her.

"Juvia admits that she was wrong back then," the woman continued, "But that doesn't change the fact that your father was thrown into jail."

Dobengal let out a 'tch' as he turned his head away from her, "Like you care."

"Juvia _does_ care, Just...Juvia had no choice. All evidence pointed to your father."

"Yeah, I know. That bastard planted it so that it would."

"But things have changed since that day...Juvia has changed," she claimed, grazing her hand over that Fairy Tail symbol that was imprinted onto her thigh. "Juvia now understands the meaning of friends...of family. Juvia understands what it means to keep people close to you. Juvia understands _love_ …"

A tear dripped down the girl's cheek as she reached her arm out to Dobengal, the young man giving looking at it before giving her a confused face.

"And Juvia will use that love and lead a better life, one that knows what is right and what is wrong."

The ninja reluctantly grabbed onto her hand, allowing her to pull him up off the ground. Wrapping the man's arm around her to support him, the two limped out of the building and toward the location in the arena where other members of Team Sabertooth would go when defeated.

The monitors beeped as the score for Fairy Tail went up.

* * *

Gajeel's sword arm stabbed into the ground as the man panted heavily, feeling the drain of his magic begin to take its toll on his body.

"God dammit…" he muttered, "You're annoying as hell."

Rogue let out an amused laugh at this, "You still think you can stop me?"

Gajeel only smirked, "I've said it before. I know I can."

The iron mage then mustered enough energy to leap up into the air, extending his iron club arm toward Rogue quickly. Rogue entered shadow form once more, dodging the attack.

Once he deemed himself in the clear, Rogue turned back into his physical form, only to be met with Gajeel's other hand, encased in iron as the punch sent Rogue flying.

Rogue then regained aerial control of his body, placing his palms together before chanting, "Shadow Dragon's Blades!"

Thin slits of shadows emerged from Rogue's body, swiping at Gajeel as the man put his arms up to defend himself, covering his whole body in iron.

After the attack ended, Gajeel ran toward Rogue once more, only for the man to disappear.

The second Rogue got out of sight, Gajeel stopped in his tracks, instinctively ducking as the anticipated kick from behind him came from Rogue. Gajeel reached up and grabbed Rogue's leg, picking him up and using his iron fist to punch Rogue into the air once more.

As Rogue flew into the air, Gajeel jumped up to join him, the two engaging into an aerial battle as they exchanged rapid kicks and punches, too quick for the naked eye to see clearly.

Rogue managed to gain the slight advantage over Gajeel due to him being lighter in weight. As Gajeel began his descent before Rogue, Rogue grabbed Gajeel as he turned back into a shadow.

 **"Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash!"**

Rogue formed streams of shadows and attacked Gajeel with them, whipping the man into the ground.

Blood came out of Gajeel's mouth from the blow of the throw, the force nearly knocking him out cold. Regardless, Gajeel jumped back onto his feet.

But when Gajeel got up, he could see that Rogue was charging up yet another attack, this one likely more powerful than the others.

Rogue gathered all the shadows he could, covering the entire surrounding area in darkness. The possessed man took a deep breath in, closing his eyes before slowly opening them again. As his eyes opened, a slight purple glimmer came off of them before all the shadows came racing toward Gajeel.

 **"Dragon Slayer Secret Art…"**

 _'Shit!'_ Gajeel attempted to throw up an iron defense wall at the oncoming attack.

 **"Darkest Abyss: Absolute-"**

Suddenly, a huge boom erupted from the area nearby the two, followed by a large blast of light, engulfing the entire area Rogue and Gajeel were in, causing the two to raise their arms up to shield themselves from the blinding light.

The light lasted for a long time before suddenly extinguishing, the force of the light making cracks in the buildings around the two.

"What was that?" Gajeel put his arms down, looking at the monitor in front of them. On the screen, he saw Dobengal panting heavily, causing the iron mage to figure out that the bright light was coming from the man's battle with Juvia.

Gajeel then looked over to see if Rogue was alright. The second he looked at him, however, Gajeel's face turned confused at the sight before his eyes.

Rogue's entire demeanor changed. The shadow scales that covered his body disappeared as his eyes turned back into their red color.

"Oi…" Gajeel called out to the teen. Rogue, ignoring the guy, lifted his hands up to look at them, the limbs shaking as he did.

"What...happened?" he slowly looked to Gajeel, "I can't remember anything…"

"You don't?"

Rogue looked at the surrounding area, completely clueless as to where he was.

As Rogue continued to turn his head to take in his surroundings, a single shadow branched out from the one that was projected off of Rogue's body from the sun's light. Gajeel's eyebrows shot up as he observed the shadow creep onto Rogue's body.

"Hey," Gajeel began to warn, "That shadow-"

Before Gajeel could finish, Rogue let out a cry as more shadows began creeping back onto his body, etching themselves into scales on his skin and darkening his eyes into black, this time much more violently than the last.

Gajeel was speechless, completely taken aback by the events transpiring before his own eyes.

Rogue's shouts came to a halt as he returned to the evil persona he once was at earlier in the battle.

"What the hell is going on?" he asked Rogue before realizing that it was no longer the Rogue that he had known before.

"Whoever you are, get the hell out of his body."

Rogue gave an evil smirk at the demand by his opponent, "Would you believe me if I had told you that I _am_ Rogue?"

"Not a chance. Your body, your _smell_ may be the same, but that doesn't mean anything. You ain't him."

"True. I am not the Rogue that you know, but, rather, a version of him you have yet to encounter," Rogue formed shadows in him palm as he charged another attack to him, "Either way, I can still use my powers to beat you."

Gajeel encased his body once more into iron instinctively, jumping up into the air as a stream of shadows came flying toward where he was once standing. After doing a few flips in the air, Gajeel stuck his leg out, aiming to land on top of Rogue to hit him. But, as usual, Rogue entered the shadow form, but this time stayed still, allowing Gajeel to sink in with him.

With his body in iron, gravity pulled harder on Gajeel, dragging him down quickly into the realm of shadows. Gajeel, knowing that this would bring this battle to an end, reactivated his dual element mode, entering his own shadow form with Rogue.

"Big mistake," Rogue smirked as he came back to his physical form, waving his arms around as he attempted to pull Gajeel out with his own shadow magic.

But it didn't work.

Rogue's eyes widened as he pulled harder, using all his might to drag Gajeel just like he had earlier in the battle.

Gajeel grinned as he gave a "geehee" to the teen.

"My shadows ain't yours to control," Gajeel explained as he wrapped his arms around in his own fusion of iron and shadows, the two elements now completely mixed into one substance.

 **"Iron Shadow Dragon's Lance!"** Gajeel extended his arm in the shape of a pole, hitting the shocked Rogue right in the gut followed by a plethora of the now fully-fused shadows and iron dust, sending him flying toward the building behind them.

 _'Shadows are...hurting me…?'_ Rogue thought, confusion over his face as he wiped the blood off of his face. He then wiped the confusion, giving a grin to Gajeel as his eyes lit up with madness once more. "Oh I'm going to enjoy beating you much more than I had anticipated…"

"Good luck trying," Gajeel taunted, motioning with his fingers for Rogue to come toward him. Rogue obliged, coming at Gajeel in his shadow form at rapid speed before quickly exiting in front of the man, uppercutting him at his top speed and strength.

Or rather, he tried to uppercut him.

Gajeel's iron skin made a loud clanking noise as it stopped Rogue's punch's momentum completely, nearly breaking the teen's hand in the process. Rogue let out a cry of pain as he yanked his hand away from the metal and held it. Gajeel then swung his leg out to the wounded Rogue, kicking him high into the air.

Sucking up the pain, Rogue used his uninjured arm and formed a stream of shadows, shooting it at Gajeel while still in mid air before crashing into the building behind him.

Dusting off the debris from the impact, Rogue jumped out of the building he crashed into and back onto the ground.

Gajeel was nowhere to be seen, causing Rogue to go into his shadow form to try and find him there.

Right when the teen entered the shadow state, Gajeel was waiting for him. He greeted Rogue with multiple punches powerful enough to force him out of the shadow state and back into the physical state.

Rogue spit out blood as he forced himself back onto his feet, now filled with annoyance. Gathering a huge amount of shadows behind him, Rogue sent them flying to Gajeel as lightning speed, only for Gajeel to easily dodge them by jumping into the air. As he reached his peak in the air, Gajeel sent out his iron arm in the shape of a pole toward Rogue, who managed to get out of the way in time, the pole hitting the ground hard, cracking it.

Gajeel swung his arm around off the ground, rotating his whole body as his metal arm eventually found its way to Rogue, who had been running away from it. Rogue was sent into the closest wall at full force.

Once he crashed into the wall, Rogue formed into a shadow once more to escape the area, moving quickly to get closer to Gajeel. Sprouting from the ground beneath his opponent, Rogue wrapped his shadow self all over Gajeel, forming streams of shadows around him before attacking Gajeel once more.

Gajeel flew into the air from the force of the shadow attack, allowing Rogue to continuously attack him before the man could gain aerial control over his body. However, after a few attacks, Gajeel managed to stab a nearby wall with his iron sword arm, stopping his motion altogether.

Gajeel then jumped down from where he was, landing right on top of Rogue, hitting him with as much force as he could, even cracking the ground beneath the two.

With his fists coated in iron, Gajeel repeatedly punched the possessed Rogue in the face, hoping to knock the guy out. After a few strikes to the face, Gajeel stopped punching once he saw Rogue's eyes shut. Gajeel got off of his opponent, hoping to declare victory.

However, Rogue's seemingly unconscious body then seeped back into the shadow realm before appearing once more before Gajeel.

Gajeel grunted in frustration as he readied his stance once more.

"What's it gonna take to keep you down?"

Rogue was the first to make a move, jumping high into the air at an alarming speed. Gajeel immediately put his arms up to block, only for Rogue to disappear into thin air.

Or rather, go into the shadows of the ground.

Rogue burst from the cement beneath the two, bringing Gajeel high into the air. Throwing him into the air, Rogue positioned himself above Gajeel yelled out "Shadow Dragon's Roar!", releasing the roar to Gajeel, the force knocking him right back into the ground.

Before Gajeel could make contact with the ground, he turned into a shadow himself, avoiding the damage the roar would have done. Rogue joined the man in the world of shadows, the two now beginning a chase.

With years of experience in the shadow realm under his belt, Rogue easily caught up to Gajeel. However, once he did, Gajeel stuck his arm out of the shadow and grabbed Rogue when he least expected it, pulling the two out of the shadows.

Gajeel, having successfully baited his opponent, punched Rogue with all his might, sending the boy flying high into the air.

As Rogue flipped multiple times in the air, Gajeel surrounded his entire body with iron and shadows, summoning all that he could in his brief time window before Rogue would land back on the ground.

 **"Dragon Slayer Secret Art,"** Gajeel took a deep breath, fatigue now evident in his voice as he willed himself to finish his new spell, **"Karma Demon: Dark Blade Rain..!"**

A portion of the sky above the two turned a deep black as a cloud of shadows formed. As the cloud grew in size, numerous amounts of iron swords projected from it, coming to Rogue at lightning speed.

The blades, each covered in shadows, continued their downpour as Rogue was sent crashing hard into the ground at the force. Dust and debris flew everywhere as the attack completely demolished the surrounding area.

Gajeel let the spell finish as he released the rest of his magic power, falling onto one knee in complete exhaustion.

Rogue was now completely knocked out, blood coming out of his many wounds.

The shadow that had overtaken his body now released itself. "So this is current Rogue's limit," it observed before laughing. "Until next time, Gajeel."

Gajeel watched the shadow go off into the distance, too tired to chase after it. "What the hell was that all about?"

Gajeel turned to the monitor, hearing the cheers of the crowd boom from the speakers. Seeing the camera focused on Levy and the rest of the guild, Gajeel put a smirk on his face, knowing he had won his battle.

"What an amazing show of power by none other than Black Steel Gajeel!" Chapati announced, "I've never seen anything like it! What about you, Yajima-san?"

"An unending projection of metal blades formed within a cloud of shadows...that's not something you see often, if at all. I'm telling you, these Fairy Tail members all got something special in them that makes this guild so powerful."

"And with that, Fairy Tail is just 1 opponent away from victory!" Chapati yelled into his mic, "The comeback of the year is all but complete!"

Gajeel looked toward the other monitors, which were showing the other Fairy Tail members. Juvia had won her battle against Dobengal, Gray defeated Lyon, Laxus won over Jura, who had defeated Orga, and Erza won a lengthy battle against Minerva following Kagura's defeat to the Sabertooth woman.

The scoreboard was now updated with all the points the guild had gotten with their battles:

 **Fairy Tail: 64 points**

 **Sabertooth: 59 points**

 **Lamia Scale: 42 points**

 **Mermaid Heel: 41 points**

Chapati was right. Only one other member remained. Victory was so close for the Fairies they could almost taste it.

However, the one member remaining is arguably the one with the most drive to win the Games this year. And on top of that, he barely broke a sweat all day so far while all of Fairy Tail could barely even stand at this point.

As the sun began to set on the evening of July 6th, X791, a bright stream of white lights ignited the sky as a beacon for the Fairy Tail members.

"Come and get me!" the owner of the lights yelled out, "Fairy Tail!"

The cameras on the monitor shifted to the individual, revealing none other than Sting, who had been sitting on a bench this whole time, avoiding conflict as his true plan began to blossom into action.

Only 5 points behind, Sting only had to push over the exhausted Fairy Tail members to give his guild victory once more.

* * *

The Sabertooth infirmary had been dead quiet all day, the only significant sounds being the radio broadcasting the Games and the occasional small talk between the people in there. For the most part, it was just Doranbolt and Rufus talking about the progress they were making on Wendy.

The silence, however, was immediately destroyed when Carla suddenly let out a loud gasp, knocking over a glass of water onto the floor and causing all heads to turn to her.

"Carla," Rufus got up from his seat, "What hap-"

"Dragons!" Carla exclaimed, interrupted the boy.

"What?" everyone in the room responded, taken aback by her words.

"I saw...there were... " Carla attempted to put her vision into words, only for the shock in her to prevent her tongue from releasing her thoughts.

"Let me help you," Rufus walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder and closing his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he delved into Carla's memories, seeing what she had had a vision of.

Suddenly, the room around the group turned into an unfamiliar setting, one covered in flames and debris. The group took the surroundings in as Rufus continued to project Carla's vision through her memories.

Doranbolt took a few steps to get a better understanding of the area, only to gasp at the sight in front of them.

In front of them was Mercurius castle, or really, what was left of it. It was torn to bits and pieces as flames engulfed it entirely, burning the people in it as well. Blood curdling screams echoed from the whole area as total despair washed over.

And that wasn't the worst part. On top of the castle, a mighty dragon stood, roaring loudly as fire released from its mouth torched the civilians inside.

"Dragons... " Doranbolt trailed off as he turned the other way, seeing more dragons completely destroy Crocus as they knew it.

*When is this going to happen…?" Rufus asked Carla, who simply shook her head and shrugged.

Porlyusica, however, looked at one of the castle's walls, looking for its calendar that it always hung on the walls. And the date Porlyusica found was everyone's worst fear.

The day the group was in was July 7th, X791. Less than 24 hours away from their current time.

Rufus ended the projection of the vision as the room turned back to normal. Once this happened, Doranbolt immediately grabbed his jacket and made his way toward the exit to warn the Council of his foundings.

"Wait," Carla looked at the Council worker, "We need to think of a plan."

"What plan is there to think of?!" Doranbolt responded, stress and fear all over his voice, " _Dragons_ are coming! In less than a day! We need to get as many reinforcements as possible!"

"You think I don't know that?" Carla said back, "Why don't we try warning the kingdom first? They probably can do something, right?"

"Actually, they already know," a new voice entered the room, causing everyone to look at its owner. At the doorway was none other than Yukino herself, out of breath and fresh from her escape from the palace's soldiers.

"Yukino?!" Carla asked in disbelief, "What are you doing-"

"It's a long story," Yukino interrupted, "But we don't have time for it. Right now, I think we need to compare notes on the future that is coming for us."

With that, the others nodded, now grouping together to discuss their findings of their different informants of the future.

"Yukino, why do you know about the dragons?" Rufus asked her, confusion still in his voice, "I mean, _how_ do you know? Who told you?"

"About that…" Yukino looked at the floor, her face now much more sad, "It's about Rogue-sama…"

"What about him?" a new voice from behind the group asked, causing everyone to look over, shock all over all their faces.

A figure sat up from the infirmary bed, concern in their eyes as their long blue hair dropped behind their back.

"What happened to Rogue?" the person reiterated, only to be answered with silence, "And the dragons? What's going on?"

The group's eyes all widened as they stared. None of them said a word, still processing the sight before their eyes.

"Wendy?!"

Wendy stared back at them, her dark brown eyes filled with life and energy as she looked at the others.

* * *

 _ **Those eyes...are they the beacon of hope that can change this sorrowful future?**_

 **To be continued in Chapter 30: Victory**

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed the conclusions of the 2 main GMG battles I wanted to focus on, along with the end of the Natsu vs Future Rogue "prelude battle" as I like to call it.**

 **Look who's back! After how many months of absence, Wendy is finally back! (Wow...just like me, huh? What a coincidence haha)**

 **Thanks again to Mike Uzumaki-Heartfilia for reading this over!**

 **It's weird to think about how around a year ago I finished up the 6 Dragon Slayer fight (chapters 19-21). To be honest, that battle is honestly my favorite part of this whole story so far. I'm really proud of it and it's kinda like a child to me lol**

 **I know I haven't been updating a lot lately, and I hate that life keeps holding me back from what I love doing, but this story isn't over yet! And luckily I am about 4/5 done with chapter 30, so yeah!**

 **Chapter 30 and will mark the end of the Grand Magic Games and the (official) beginning of the Eclipse Gate arc! I might change around some of the dragons' magics from canon, but nothing too drastic. I know that this is technically the beginning of a new arc, but this story is starting to come to a close. I already know how I want to end this story and kick off the sequel, I just need to figure out all the details in between where the story currently is and where it will end.**

 **And with Fairy Tail coming to an end in about 2 weeks, I hope you guys continue to stay active in the fandom! I know that when series end, many people's interests begin to shift, so I hope you guys never forget what Fairy Tail taught you and what it meant to you!**

 **Until the next one! Don't forget to leave a review if you can!**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fairy Tail or its characters**


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